By Humberto Viera
07 Apr 2024, 11:23 AM EDT
Dutch driver Max Verstappen increased his lead in the Formula One World Championship by taking victory in the Japanese Grand Prix, his fourth victory of the season. The race took place at the Suzuka circuit, where Verstappen crossed the finish line ahead of his teammate, the Mexican Sergio Pérez, who regained second position in the championship, and the Spanish Carlos Sainz of Ferrari, who finished in third place.
Verstappen, 26, also achieved the fastest lap of the race, thus adding his fifty-seventh victory in Formula One and the third of the season. The race also saw Sainz take his 21st podium in the category, while double world champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin finished in sixth place.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished fourth, followed by McLaren’s Lando Norris in fifth. Other drivers who finished in the points included Mercedes’ George Russell in seventh, and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in eighth.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes finished ninth, while Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda crossed the line in tenth place.
With this victory, Verstappen leads the championship with 77 points, thirteen more than Pérez and eighteen more than Leclerc, who is in third place in the general classification.
The next race will be the Chinese Grand Prix, which will take place at the Shanghai circuit on April 21 and will be the first of six sprint format races.
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