The event was held at Suzuka for the 34th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 5 to 7 April. It was the 49th running of the Japanese Grand Prix as a Formula One championship round. Crucially, it was the first time the event was held in spring rather than its traditional September-to-November window, a deliberate move as part of Formula One's regional scheduling efforts — placing the Japanese Grand Prix between the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix to cluster the Asian rounds together.
The weekend carried emotional significance as it marked the tenth anniversary of the fatal accident of Jules Bianchi at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc wore a full tribute helmet in Bianchi's memory.
Going into the weekend, Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship with 51 points, four points clear of Leclerc and five ahead of Pérez. Red Bull Racing led the Constructors' Championship with 97 points, four points clear of Ferrari and 42 ahead of McLaren.
For the first free practice session, Ayumu Iwasa made his Formula One practice debut, driving for RB in place of Daniel Ricciardo. The drivers and teams were otherwise the same as the season entry list.
Pirelli brought the C1, C2, and C3 compounds — the three hardest in their range — designated hard, medium, and soft respectively for this event.
Three free practice sessions were held. The first session on Friday 5 April was topped by Verstappen ahead of Pérez and Sainz Jr., but was red-flagged after Williams driver Logan Sargeant lost control and struck the barrier, breaking his front wing. The second session that afternoon was topped by McLaren's Oscar Piastri ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc, though damp conditions meant only five drivers set representative lap times. The third session on Saturday was again topped by Verstappen, with Pérez second and George Russell of Mercedes third.
Verstappen secured pole position in qualifying on 6 April 2024.
The race ran for 53 laps, starting at 14:00 local time on 7 April.
Verstappen led into the first corner from pole. A crash involving Daniel Ricciardo and Alexander Albon on the opening lap triggered a lengthy red flag; the barrier repairs required over twenty minutes, and the race restarted with a standing start on lap three. Verstappen resumed control and pit on lap 16, handing the lead temporarily to Leclerc. With a significant tyre advantage from the undercut, Verstappen closed the gap rapidly and reclaimed the lead by lap 20.
Leclerc committed to a one-stop strategy, remaining on his medium tyres before switching to hards at the end of lap 26. Meanwhile, the Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Russell — who had fitted hard tyres during the red flag period — struggled with tyre degradation in the closing stages of the race. A brief yellow flag on lap 42 interrupted proceedings when Sargeant ran into the gravel at turn 9, but he reversed back onto the circuit and continued.
In the final laps, Sainz overtook Leclerc to claim the third podium position, leaving Leclerc fourth. George Russell overtook Piastri on the final lap at turn 16 to finish seventh, with Piastri eventually eighth. Tsunoda's tenth-place finish marked the first points scored by a Japanese driver at their home Grand Prix since Kobayashi's podium twelve years earlier.
Verstappen extended his Drivers' Championship lead to thirteen points over Pérez, who leapfrogged Leclerc into second place. Sainz moved to fourth, while Lando Norris rose to fifth with 37 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull extended their advantage to 21 points over Ferrari, with McLaren third and Mercedes fourth, all within 72 points of the leaders.
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