Max Verstappen and Red Bull returned to winning ways in the 2023 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix after surviving a dramatic first lap and pulling comfortably clear of McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, confirming another constructors’ title for the Milton Keynes team. The C2 offered greater flexibility in terms of management, and that’s why the majority of drivers opted to start with it. For the start, 13 drivers went with the Medium for the first stint, seven for the Soft. Those who had two new Hard sets used them both, except Russell, who – having managed his Medium set from the start – tried to mix things up by going for a one-stop strategy, using the Hard for no fewer than 29 laps. The Mercedes driver also did the most laps (24) on one set of Medium tyres, while Zhou (Alfa Romeo) did the most (19) on the Soft. The teams will have the C1 compound as P1 Zero White stiff, C2 as P Zero Yellow medium and the C3 as P Zero Red soft.

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