Verstappen credits car changes after qualifying for Suzuka dominance

Max Verstappen counts his dominant performance in the Japanese Grand Prix as “a very, very good win” for Red Bull after leading home a one-two.

Saturday’s front-row lock-out was followed by Verstappen warning that he had some concerns over his race pace after the lack of running in practice. In warmer conditions than the rest of the race weekend, Red Bull dominated with Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez never seriously threatened, and Verstappen says it’s one of the team’s best performances this year.

“I think the critical bit was, of course, the start, to stay ahead,” Verstappen said. “After that, actually, the car just got better and better for me throughout the race. I don’t know if it had to do with the clouds coming in, but everything just went really well. Pit stops went well. Strategy, I think, worked out well. Couldn’t have been any better!

“I think it was a very, very good win. It took a few laps to settle in a bit with the car, but I think we made some good changes to the car before going into qualifying, which then helped today.