How Verstappen’s crushing Japanese GP win showed Singapore was a blip

Max Verstappen arrived at Suzuka with a point to prove after Red Bull’s off-colour performance in Singapore, and in domineering style he smashed home his message that the team hasn’t gone off the boil. Victory confirmed Red Bull’s world champion status for 2023 as Verstappen proved in a class of his own out front, with not even McLaren’s recent surge able to provide a worthy challenge

Normal service officially resumed at Suzuka, and a minor stumble at the line simply delayed Red Bull’s collection of its sixth Formula 1 constructors’ championship. Singapore? Merely a blip; Max Verstappen’s usual order of a leisurely Sunday afternoon cruise to victory was made almost inevitable following his demolition job of the rest of the field in qualifying.

The team’s all-conquering RB19 proved a tricky customer at Marina Bay a week prior, but the nature of the fast and flowing Suzuka circuit ensured that it was back to full strength. It was putty in the hands of Verstappen, and even Lewis Hamilton was complimentary of the car ahead of the weekend – suggesting that he was looking forward to watching the Dutchman’s laps after the Japanese Grand Prix. The car had everything from speed, compliance and predictability: a racing driver’s holy trifecta.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake studied engineering at university, as his original ambition was to design racing cars. He was bad at that, and thus decided to write about them instead with an equally limited skillset. The above article is a demonstration of that. In his spare time, Jake enjoys people, places, and things.