Formula One will view the Japanese Grand Prix’s move from its customary late-season location to an earlier date in the midst of spring’s cherry blossoms as a triumph. Senior F1 executives, however, may be feeling a bit more anxious about the remainder of the season after the outcome in Suzuka and the response to it.
With 24 races planned, this year’s F1 championship is expected to be the longest ever, ending in Abu Dhabi in early December. It will therefore be troubling that Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, is already writing off the world championship as a done deal, even before the fourth race, which was won by Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
After the race, in which his drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished ninth and eighth, respectively, he declared plainly, “No one is going to catch Max this year.”
This is an almost unquestionably right conclusion, even by the standards of Verstappen’s recent domination, which has seen him canter to the last two of his three consecutive titles since the regulatory revisions in 2022. The Dutchman won in Japan on Sunday, controlling the race from start to finish and sending a clear message that he already has his fourth title in the bag.
This bears dire consequences, particularly for the new viewers the sport is desperate to retain after the popularity of Drive to Survive on Netflix and the incredible 2021 world championship match between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
