SUZUKA, Japan — Normal service resumed for Max Verstappen at the Japanese Grand Prix as he recorded a near-perfect weekend: pole position, fastest lap and race victory. Climbing out of the car, he looked like a man who had just been for a morning stroll in the park rather than someone who’d been wrestling with the might of a Formula One machine for the previous two hours.
Victory has become so routine for the Dutchman they must all feel like one these days.
Verstappen’s third win of the year came two weeks after a brake fire on his Red Bull car opened the door for Carlos Sainz‘s memorable victory at the Australian GP for Ferrari, which in turn had given fans a sliver of hope that this season might not be as one-sided as Verstappen’s romp to the 2023 title, but a second straight race without a victory — something that has not happened to Verstappen since July 2022 — never seemed on the cards at Suzuka.
Sunday’s win was so complete it prompted Mercedes boss Toto Wolff to throw in the towel on the 2024 championship on behalf of the entire grid with 20 races of F1’s longest-ever season still to run.
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“No one is going to catch Max this year,” Wolff said after the race. “His driving and the car are just spectacular. You can see the way he manages the tyres and basically this season now is best of the rest.”
It is hard to disagree. Verstappen has failed to win just 10 of the 48 races since he claimed his first championship at the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Three of those 10 were won by Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez.
Take Sainz’s Melbourne win of two weeks ago and his victory in Singapore last September out of the equation and the last non-Verstappen victory was at this exact point 12 months ago, at the fourth race of the season; last year that was Baku’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which this season has swapped places with Japan’s usual October spot on the calendar.
Verstappen’s thinly veiled threats to leave Red Bull last month around the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and Wolff’s public interest in signing him for 2025 have at least kept headline writers busy for the past few weeks. But aside from race day in Melbourne, on-track surprises have been limited. Verstappen referenced the recent speculation about his future when told about Wolff’s comment.
“Lately Toto’s been really nice, saying a lot of nice things about me,” he said, laughing. Red Bull boss Christian Horner could not help…
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