Verstappen wins in Japan with the "best version" of the RB21

Poleman almost to everyone's surprise this Saturday after a high-flying performance, the four-time world champion won his 64th victory in Formula 1 this Sunday in Suzuka. Evolving a tone below the McLaren since the start of the season with a Red Bull particularly difficult to pilot, Verstappen did not tremble during the 53 laps of the Japanese Grand Prix, despite the threat of the orange single-seaters and the rain, which ultimately never fell. The number 1 also wanted to salute his team, who worked tirelessly to improve the behavior of his car on a circuit where confidence in your machine plays an important part in the result.

“It was difficult, I had to push very hard, especially in the last relay.”, he said in the Parc Fermé. “Both McLarens were pushing me to the limit, but it was a lot of fun. It wasn't easy to manage the tires, we didn't start our weekend optimally, but we didn't give up, we kept fighting tirelessly to improve the car. It was at its best today, and starting from pole position really made this victory possible. It's very important to maximize performance every time, and I think we did that very well this weekend.”

Verstappen-Honda, a beautiful final point

With this victory, Max Verstappen is only one point behind Lando Norris in the world championship standings. Proof that even if the McLarens are above the rest at the start of the year, we will always have to count on the Verstappen-Red Bull-Honda trio to play spoilsport. The Dutchman did not underestimate the significance of this fourth consecutive victory in Japan, home of an engine manufacturer that has been so important in his career. After at least four titles with Honda, the 27-year-old driver knows that their collaboration will end at the end of this year. It was therefore important to close this in the best possible way in Japan, with a livery paying tribute to the Honda RA272, victorious in F1 for the first time sixty years ago.

“This place means a lot to me and I realized in the closing laps that I really needed to stay up front to put a nice end to our story with Honda here in Japan. I'm incredibly proud of what we've achieved over the years together and I think this is the perfect way to close this chapter.”

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