At the start of the 2023 F1 season, everyone expected Ferrari and Mercedes to pose a challenge to the handicapped Red Bull. However, the mastery of Adrian Newey at the hands of Max Verstappen proved too lethal for other teams. 17 rounds into the season, Verstappen single-handedly won the constructors championship for Red Bull at the Honda’s home race. 

Max Verstappen looked like a man on a mission since the Japanese GP weekend began. The Dutchman was relentless, as had been the case throughout the year. While Honda will no longer be an engine supplier after 2025, it sure is the supplier for the time being. Winning the constructors championship with the Honda logo on the car at the Japanese GP is what the Japanese Engine supplier must be dreaming of.

However, after Sergio Perez retired from the race after multiple collisions, Max Verstappen had it upon himself to bring the constructors trophy home. There was never a doubt that Verstappen wouldn’t be able to do it. He won the race with a 19+ second margin to bring the title home in style. The story of the Japanese GP resonates with the story of the season where Checo has underperformed almost all year long with Max scoring the majority of the points for the team. 

“Cars Are the Same”: Sergio Perez Gets No Sympathy From Max Verstappen as Embarrassment Continues

But what happened to Sergio Perez at the Japanese Grand Prix? Why did he retire from the race? Let’s see how his race unfolded.

Sergio Perez’s blunders at the Japanese GP

It all started during the qualifying where Sergio Perez was out-qualified by his teammate once again by over 7 tenths of a second. Then came the race start where Sergio was sandwiched as it was 4 cars wide going into turn 1. As a result, the Mexican driver had to move resulting in a collision. The very next lap he boxed for a new front wing and hard tires. However, he was given a 5-second penalty for safety car infringement as he came into the pitlane.

But that was not all. Eager to make up ground on the positions lost by him, Checo tried desperately to get past the backmarkers. However, he was a little too desperate when it came to Kevin Magnussen, dive-bombing the Haas driver and colliding with him. Checo then retired the car but that wasn’t all. He was given a 5-second penalty for the incident so he has to hop in the car again and serve that penalty by going out.

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Quite an odd thing to happen for Red Bull on the weekend where they won their 6th constructors title. Still, the fate of Perez & Verstappen in Suzuka could not have been more opposite. As the celebrations begin, there will be some questions on what Checo can bring to the table in the remaining races of 2023.

WATCH THIS STORY | Sergio Perez Caught in the Crossfire as Sebastian Vettel Dismisses All Attempts to Downplay Verstappen’s Dominance