Verstappen retires as Honda's Suzuka misery goes on

Max Verstappen's Japanese Grand Prix soon descended into misery as he crashed with Charles Leclerc on the opening lap and retired soon after.

Red Bull had hoped to deliver a big result for Honda in their engine supplier's home race, but the collision with Leclerc wrecked those ambitions.

Verstappen dropped down the order and had failed to make up significant ground in 15 laps, prompting the team to retire the car.

"There was so much damage on the car, we were concerned it might break further," team principal Christian Horner explained to Sky Sports.

Honda had three cars in the top 10, raising hopes of breaking their scoreless run on home soil since returning to F1, but their highest hopes had been pinned on Verstappen.

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