Perez, Sainz and Verstappen discuss Leclerc’s strategy: “He managed tire wear incredibly well”. Footage from the cooldown room at the end of the Japanese GP.

Comments from the top-3

Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez, and Carlos Sainz found themselves in the podium room at the end of the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, which was held at the 5.807-kilometre Suzuka International Racing Course on Sunday. The Ferrari driver asked the winner if Red Bull had the option of making just one stop in the race, to which the three-time world champion replied: “We could have followed that strategy, but according to our simulations, we would have been a bit slower having to pay more attention to tire wear.” – the Dutchman explained.

Sergio Perez joined in, highlighting Charles Leclerc’s remarkable first stint on medium tires, a move that allowed him to climb from seventh to fourth place final position using strategy alone: “Leclerc really managed the tire wear incredibly well,” Checo said.

The three drivers then commented on the incident at the start between Alexander Albon and Daniel Ricciardo. “Albon was right in the blind spot,” Perez noted, with Verstappen adding: “Real bad luck, you can see Ricciardo checking his left mirror.” The footage then shifts to Sergio Perez’s mistake in the Degner curve, a point that also betrayed Logan Sargeant. “He went straight in front of me,” said Max Verstappen, with Sergio Perez at that moment hoping for a Safety Car for one last push: “I was wondering why they wouldn’t deploy the Safety Car.” Indeed, the intervention of the safety car would have been necessary if the Williams of Logan Sargeant hadn’t managed to rejoin the track as he eventually did.

— see video above —