The Red Bull F1 team was crowned the Constructors’ Champions for the second time in a row after their star driver Max Verstappen won the thrilling Japanese Grand Prix with a dominant win after a very disappointing race at the Singapore Grand Prix. Right from the get-go, Verstappen brilliantly held onto his pole position from the start, thwarting Lando Norris in the first turn. His immaculate effort on the track resulted in a convincing victory with a decisive 19-second lead over the others.
However, the Dutchman’s teammate Sergio Perez had a miserable afternoon throughout this cheery setting at Red Bull. A string of unfortunate incidents forced Perez to make two pit stops for replacement front wings as a result of crashes with both Lewis Hamilton and Kevin Magnussen, for which McLaren driver Lando Norris left a strange reply. He ultimately had to withdraw from the race.
The camera man making move like it’s a scene straight out of the the office I’m crying pic.twitter.com/wFQYAgstJp
— Matt³³⁺¹⁶ | 🇶🇦LOSAIL🇶🇦 (@FM1_3316) September 24, 2023
Despite his best efforts or rather call it the struggle he had to go through, the Mexican driver was disqualified after a series of such occurrences. Further complicating the circumstances, a stewards’ investigation found that Perez was mostly to blame for the accident with Magnussen. Furthermore, there was a chance that the penalty would have an impact on his ultimate position in the Drivers’ Standings.
The cameraman became the center of attention at the Japanese Grand Prix
Despite the heated environment within the Red Bull garage to regain the record they had to let go of at Singapore during the Suzuka race last weekend, it was the face behind the cameras that caught people’s eyes. It was rather the method he used to shoot the television broadcast shots. Fans were able to point out the reference to the popular American sitcom, “The Office” and the scenario within the garage. F1 fans on Twitter or X had a great laugh as they watched the Japanese Grand Prix on their televisions.
Fun and games aside, this incident reflected the declining popularity of the Mexican driver among fans. Since his position within the team became a little uncertain, Sergio felt the need to live up to the level of performance that his teammate Verstappen maintained and not compromise by acting as the second fiddle to him forever.
The Japanese Grand Prix of 2023 was one of the most important races for the Milton Keynes-based team as it marked the revival of the Dutch athlete on board but also added to the already existing stark difference in terms of performance between the drivers.
