SUZUKA: Formula One leader Max Verstappen ran away with the Japanese Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday as his dominant Red Bull team secured the constructors’ title for the second year in a row.

The victory at Suzuka was the Dutch driver’s 13th in 16 races this season and left him on the brink of a third world championship after Mexican team-mate Sergio Perez, his closest rival, failed to finish.

McLaren’s Lando Norris and Australian rookie Oscar Piastri, on a grand prix podium for the first time, finished second and third.

Verstappen, who also took the fastest lap bonus and now leads Perez by a huge 177 points, can seal his third drivers’ title in a row with five rounds to spare at next month’s Qatar Grand Prix.