"Max is the best in the world," claims Horner after Verstappen's sensational win in Suzuka
On the back of an eye-opening performance from the reigning champion, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner insisted that Max Verstappen's fourth straight win in Suzuka was one of best weekend's of the Dutchman's F1 career.
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.
As for his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who made his Red Bull debut on his home soil, he was bogged down in traffic and could not make much progress. Although he managed to get past Liam Lawson at the start, and he also picked off Pierre Gasly in the pit stop period, he was unable to challenge for points in Suzuka.
Reflecting on the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner insisted that Verstappen's fourth straight win in Suzuka was one of best weekend's of the Dutchman's F1 career.
“What a race! An imperious drive from the front secured a fourth consecutive win at Suzuka for Max, the Team and of course our engine partners Honda who we owe a debt of thanks and gratitude for their support over the years.
"In reality though the hard work was done yesterday. It has to be one of the best weekend’s of Max’s career, one that further underlines Max as the best in the world currently. Suzuka is a driver’s circuit and boy did Max deliver.
"Equally, credit has to go to the engineering Team as well for turning things upside down after Friday and pushing together to get the job done. It was a solid performance for Yuki. The nature of the race meant overtaking was hard to come by throughout, but he made some ground and will only improve as he continues to settle into the Team the next few races.”
