Verstappen reveals how colder conditions helped Red Bull to beat McLaren in Japan
On the back of a sensational performance in qualifying and the race, reigning champion Max Verstappen has indicated that colder conditions helped Red Bull to beat McLaren at the Japanese Grand Prix.
McLaren looked to be the dominant force across the practice sessions, but reigning champion Max Verstappen beat Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the all-important qualifying session to take his 41 career pole.
Although Norris and Piastri made a good start, the Dutchman maintained the lead, and the two McLarens were unable to put Verstappen under real pressure in the opening stint.
The Woking-based outfit had two cars to attack Verstappen during the sole round of pitstops, but Verstappen and Red Bull were perfect. Piastri pitted first but the undercut was not potent, so he found himself still behind Norris after the only stops. The British driver had half a chance of grabbing the lead in those pit stops, nearly side by side with Verstappen in the pit lane and having to run across the grass as the Dutchman refused to yield.
Verstappen then looked in complete control, and did not make any mistakes on his way to his fourth straight win at Suzuka. The Dutchman praised Red Bull for making the right calls in terms of setup and strategy, but he also suggested that the colder conditions might have played into the hands of the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
“We couldn’t have wished for a better result today in our final race with Honda here together. It’s been amazing and I’m really proud of what we have done this weekend. We made all of the right calls during the race, were constantly pushing and our tyres weren’t overheating so much due to the colder tyre temperature which helped us.
"Yesterday was a beautiful day for us and the key to the win was to start from pole. We maximised everything we could and to follow this up with the win is fantastic. We know our limitations and still have work to do. We are just finding where we can push the car to the limit and need to maximise everything that we can to get the best out of the car and make it more balanced.
Red Bull ran a special, one-off livery to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Honda's first victory in Formula One with a design concept that was a tribute to the RA272. The current season also marks the final one of the partnership between Honda and Red Bull
"Finally, this is a perfect send off for Honda and our relationship is something I will never forget. I’ve enjoyed my time with them and how they work: they are so professional and dedicated and they have given me so much. Together to win four Drivers' Championships and two Constructors’ Championships is unbelievable.
"It did cross my mind whilst driving that it would be insane to win here today and at a home track for Honda, so that gave me a bit of motivation as well. It’s a proper send off and we couldn’t have wished for a better weekend," concluded Verstappen.
