Imperial! The FI1 MAX Verstappen’s defending world champion (Red Bull) came close to perfection this weekend in Japan with an incredible pole position on Saturday and a successful success on Sunday against helpless McLaren.
While we thought the Dutchman at the twilight of his domination, he demonstrated in the land of the rising sun that he was still the best pilot of the grid and that he would not abandon his crown without fighting.
“I didn’t make any mistakes”
After having masterfully snatched the pole position for only twelve thousandths of a second to everyone’s surprise on Saturday, “Mad Max” dominated the Grand Prix without trembling on Sunday in Suzuka, leaving no chance to the British Lando Norris and the Australian Oscar Piastri.
“It was a pleasant race. I had two orange cars in my mirrors throughout the race and I had to grow permanently, especially during the last twenty laps. I am very proud of my race and my weekend. I made no mistakes and I maximized the potential of the car, ”said Verstappen.
“You piloted to perfection, great job,” said the boss of Red Bull Christian Horner to his pilot on the radio. “It’s great! We showed that we never abandoned, it’s fantastic. Our weekend was incredible, ”replied Verstappen.
Author of a good start, the quadruple title holder has never been worried by Norris, except when changing tires. At the end of the stands, the Briton tried to go beyond the leader by the right when he did not have the place to do it and he was forced to roll in the grass, losing a precious time that he then never was able to fill.
“The grass was a bit high so Lando (Norris) made sure to cut it to perfection, ”joked the Dutchman.
Verstappen Talonne Norris
Norris keeps the head of the world championship, but only has one point ahead of Verstappen, who won the 64th victory of his career and chained a perfect weekend (pole position and victory) on the legendary Japanese trace for the fourth consecutive year.
“I got max (Verstappen) In line of sight throughout the race but I could not catch it. It is difficult to double and we can say that he won the race on Saturday by winning the pole. It’s a little disappointing because we were targeting victory, but it’s still a good race, “said the Briton.
Behind this struggle between Verstappen and the McLaren, the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) has retained its fourth starting place in front of the two Mercedes of the British George Russell and the Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
The Septuple British world champion Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) finished seventh and was the only pilot of the top 10 on the grid to grab a place.
For its first Grand Prix aboard a Red Bull single-seater after having replaced the New Zealander Liam Lawson, ousted after only two races, the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda finished only 12th despite the unconditional support of some 115,000 supporters present around the circuit bordered this week of pretty cherry trees.
