Red Bull driver Max Verstappen managed to turn around the assumptions that revolved around his latest performance that resulted from the Singapore Grand Prix. As he failed to make it to Q3 that day at the Marina Bay track, Verstappen took it upon himself to outperform the grid with a great margin.
Then came the Japan trip and the golden opportunity to win yet another race and Max was able to execute the mission he had in mind quite brilliantly.
The Red Bull defeat was immediately followed by a somewhat unanticipated victory in Suzuka. The team lead, Christian Horner shared how desperate Max was to right all the wrongs.
He said, “I played padel tennis with Max on Wednesday and he was properly fired up and he said: ‘I want to win the race by 20 seconds’. And in fairness, he came within 0.7s of achieving that.” According to the team principal, Suzuka was race he truly roared back to assert his dominance.
Christian Horner has said that Max Verstappen was highly motivated after his Singapore GP’s performance and that he told him he’d win the Japanese GP by 20s before the race started.
Max eventually won in Japan by 19.3s! 🫡#F1 #MaxVerstappen #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/Jlmx519Kug
— Sportskeeda F1 (@SportskeedaF1) September 25, 2023
As he secured his 13th victory of the year in Suzuka after starting from the front of the grid, the Dutch driver displayed absolute domination. He left Lando Norris of McLaren trailing by a significant margin of 19.3 seconds, marking his victory beyond anything less than remarkable. Verstappen’s unparalleled success strengthened his professional record while also securing Red Bull’s hold on the constructors’ championship.
Ex-F1 champion questions the potential of Max Verstappen
Even after retiring from Formula 1 at the conclusion of the 2022 season, Sebastian Vettel surprises fans time and again with his erratic appearances at races. The four-time World Champion claims that he is content by staying off the track, he has not entirely ruled out the possibility of making a comeback to the grid.
However, Vettel is still involved with the drama that surrounds the drivers and the paddock. He recently lauded the efforts that Max Verstappen has put in that has made Red Bull indestructible.
Sebastian Vettel on Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s dominance pic.twitter.com/XOdwHZlFYY
— F1 To Rule Them All (@F1RulesMedia) September 14, 2023
Nevertheless, the German believes that any driver can be defeated. He said, “I believe in what I can and know what I can do and maybe what I can’t do. I think I’m very different to him, but I mean, obviously, I’m convinced that everybody is beatable.” But according to Vettel, he might face a stiff in case he decides to race against Verstappen in the same car yet believes that he is not invincible.
Regardless, the Dutchman has recently surpassed Vettel’s 12-year-old record at the Italian Grand Prix. At the moment, Verstappen holds the peak spot at the Driver Standings with a staggering 400 points, while his teammate Sergio Perez claimed the much-desired second position with 223 points. This makes his stake at this year’s championship trophy inevitable.
