Party atmosphere at Red Bull! The British-Austrian racing team secured the constructors’ title at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday. Max Verstappen was once again the measure of all things and cruised to victory at Suzuka. The Dutchman celebrated his 13th victory in the 16th race of the season at Suzuka on Sunday after his historic winning streak ended in Singapore.
The Austrian-British racing team was able to celebrate six races before the end of the season at engine partner Honda’s home race despite the retirement of Sergio Pérez in the second Red Bull. Red Bull Racing has collected 623 points so far, more than double that of second-place Mercedes.
Sergio Pérez’s race, on the other hand, was a complete failure. Max Verstappen’s teammate initially received a five-second penalty in the safety car stage, shortly after Haas driver Kevin Magnussen spun after braking and then parked his car in the pits. This was the first Red Bull failure of the year.
Red Bull received another five-second penalty for this manoeuvre. Then Red Bull responded. Pérez was sent back to the track so that he would not have to face a penalty in the next race in Doha (Qatar). However, it was not entirely clear whether the racing teams were operating according to the rules. ORF co-commentator Alex Wurz reminded that a pilot is not allowed to bail out before getting back on track. But that’s exactly what Perez did.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was asked about this scene in an interview with ORF. But Styrian said experts on his team had read up on the rules. “So I don’t think we violated the rules,” Marco insisted. Nevertheless, this matter will remain a topic of discussion in the coming days.
