Why getting fired might be a good thing for Sainz
Leclerc wins Driver of the Day, Tsunoda scores at his home GP and Sainz is still going stronger than ever. Everything noteworthy from the Japanese Grand Prix 2024
After the Australian GP, which produced an unexpected result, F1’s next stop was Japan. This weekend proved we’re now back to normal, with Red Bull and Max Verstappen returning strong after the hiccup in Melbourne. The bulls scored an easy 1-2, but it doesn’t mean there was nothing interesting to watch.
The race started with a red flag after RB’s Ricciardo and Williams’ Albon crashed and ended up in the wall. This result definitely won’t help Ricciardo, who is thought to be one of the contenders for Perez’s Red Bull seat in 2025. The Australian is in a tough place as his younger teammate at RB, Yuki Tsunoda, outperformed him three out of the four races so far.
On the other hand, Suzuka brought luck to the only Japanese F1 driver on the grid. Tsunoda managed to finish P10, scoring a point at his home GP. With this result he became the first Japanese driver to score a point in Suzuka since Kobayashi finished third in 2012.
Another surprise during this race came from Ferrari, whose strategy ended up working - a rare occurrence! After a weaker qualifying session on Saturday, Leclerc started from P8, lagging behind his teammate Sainz, who secured the fourth position on the grid. Ferrari decided to put Leclerc on a one-stop strategy, despite most of the drivers opting for two stops, and it worked well. In the end he finished in P4 which was the best the team could aim for this weekend. His performance on the track also impressed the viewers as he was voted Driver of the Day in Suzuka.
Coming back to Sainz, ‘getting fired’ seems to have had a positive impact on him. After it was announced in February that Hamilton will be replacing him from next year, his future became uncertain. This doesn’t seem to bother him at all, as the Spaniard is in great shape this season, outperforming Leclerc during the races so far. Despite having to skip the race in Saudi Arabia due to his appendicitis surgery, he is only four points behind his teammate in the drivers’ championship standings. Not to mention, after the successful surgery, he came back strong, winning the next round in Australia and now securing the third place and another podium for Ferrari.
Overall, he has been showing an outstanding performance and seems to be in the best form of his career. This is certainly putting him in a great position to find another seat for the next season. According to rumours in the paddock he has already been approached with offers from other teams, with media reporting him talking to Red Bull, Mercedes and Audi who will take over the Sauber team from 2026.
At the same time, Ferrari might have to think about whether their decision to sign Hamilton over Sainz was a good choice. The seven-time world champion has been struggling with Mercedes this year and has been outperformed by his younger teammate George Russel too. While we’re still at the beginning of the season with 20 more races to go, if Sainz stays as consistent as he is now, it might leave his current team in a difficult position.
What’s next?
The next race of the season will take place at the Shanghai International Circuit, China, on 21 April.
Fun facts about the Chinese Grand Prix:
The location has been absent from the F1 calendar since 2019, when it staged the 1000th race of Formula 1. The sport wasn’t able to return to the track until now due to strict COVID restrictions in the country.
The most successful driver in Shanghai is Hamilton with six victories, however, it is unlikely he will be able to add another win to the list this year.
The Chinese Grand Prix in 2009 marked Red Bull’s first-ever win. In rainy conditions, Sebastian Vettel won the race from pole position - it was his third appearance with the team, starting their long list of victories together.
Michael Schumacher’s final, 91st F1 win also happened on this track in Shanghai in 2006.