Red Bull pick up minor points from Japanese Grand Prix

Red Bull were forced to settle for a minor points finish at the Japanese Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen finishing 8th and Isack Hadjar failing to score points.

Verstappen was ultimately unable to get past Pierre Gasly in the Alpine as he spent much of the race stuck behind his former teammate. It was a return to the points for the 4 time world champion, but not enough to land Red Bull their return to the podium.

Meanwhile, Hadjar lost out after the timing of a mid-race safety car, with the Frenchman finishing 12th despite starting ahead of teammate Verstappen.

The result means that after three races, Verstappen sits 9th in the Driver’s Championship with 12 points, while teammate Hadjar is still waiting to score his first points since joining Red Bull Racing.

The Milton Keynes-based Red Bull team sit 6th in the championship, just 2 points ahead of their junior team Racing Bulls and as part of a cluster that sees 4 points split Haas in 4th from Racing Bulls in 7th.

Verstappen had picked up attention in the wake of qualifying in the Japanese Grand Prix, admitting he was not enjoying F1’s new rules and would be considering his future in the sport – a stance he later reiterated in remarks to the media after the race.

The Dutchman had won the previous 4 Japanese Grand Prix races, but a 5th looked a long shot from 11th on the grid in a Red Bull struggling to keep up with the early pace setters Mercedes.

On the start, Verstappen made a few places, including making a move on teammate Hadjar. The Frenchman would also lose a position to the Haas of Esteban Ocon after Verstappen got through near the end of the second lap.

Verstappen would also get past the Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad, but it took Hadjar longer to clear the rookie, with the two having a multi-lap battle.

A pivotal moment would come around the lap 20 mark, when pit-stops were being made. Hadjar was the first of the Red Bulls to pit, doing so on lap 20 and getting ahead of Lindblad after the Racing Bulls had a slow stop.

Shortly after that, the safety car was deployed after a big crash for Haas’ Oliver Bearman, who had a high-speed crash while trying to avoid a collision with the Alpine of Franco Colapinto. The British driver would escape with bruising from a 50G impact into the wall.

This safety car deployment would help Verstappen get above others who had pit earlier, with the Red Bull coming in to box behind the safety car.

After the safety car, Verstappen’s race ultimately became a story of whether he could get ahead of Gasly. The Alpine driven by his former teammate, who also pitted behind the safety car, wound up being just quicker. Despite Verstappen making several attempts at the move, including a last-ditch dive on the final lap, the Dutchman just couldn’t get beyond Gasly, and he had to settle for 8th.

Meanwhile, Hadjar’s race was hindered by the timing of the safety car as several direct rivals got ahead of him due to being able to pit under the safety car. The Frenchman had initially got back up to 11th and was challenging Ocon for the final point, but he ran out of tyres and batteries, ultimately getting passed by the Audi of Nico Hulkenberg and finishing 11th.

Following the enforced cancellation of F1’s planned April rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to the ongoing Middle East war, Red Bull now have an extended hiatus to contend with. The sport is scheduled to return with the Miami Grand Prix in early May.