Reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen has downplayed his dominant victory at the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, suggesting that McLaren had the faster car—and joking that if he were in one of their seats, “you wouldn’t have seen me.”
Despite securing a brilliant pole position and fending off Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to take his fourth consecutive win at Suzuka, Verstappen surprised many with his comments after the race, admitting he hadn’t expected a strong result after a shaky start to the weekend.
“When I came here, I didn’t expect to win—after Friday, not at all,” Verstappen told Viaplay.
“McLaren I think was faster, but they couldn’t get into the DRS to make a move.”
“If I was in that car…”
Asked whether the win came down purely to driver talent, Verstappen responded in typically cheeky style:
“I’m very happy with what I’m doing, I don’t even want to think about it if I’d been in that other car [McLaren]. Then you wouldn’t have seen me.”
While the jab drew laughs, Verstappen was quick to re-centre the focus on teamwork, praising Red Bull Racing for their improvements and collaborative effort.
The Red Bull Edge: Strategy, Setup, and Smooth Comms
Verstappen credited the Red Bull team—particularly his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase and performance engineer Hugh Bird—for helping turn the weekend around.
“In the end it’s always a team that works well together. With GP and Hugh [Bird], it went really well.
We made the right choices before qualifying, and if you listen to the onboards, it runs very smoothly between me and GP. That’s very important.”
Verstappen also revealed three key factors that gave Red Bull the edge at Suzuka:
-
Cooler Temperatures – Helped avoid tyre overheating, a known weakness for the RB21 in warmer races.
-
Low Tyre Wear – The new track surface meant less degradation, allowing Red Bull to maintain pace under pressure.
-
Clean vs Dirty Air – Suzuka’s fast corners made it tough to follow, but Verstappen’s pole gave him a crucial clean-air advantage.
“At the end of a stint, they [McLaren] were getting closer and trying to attack—my tyres were getting too hot. But it helped that it was a bit colder today.”
Keeping Expectations in Check
Despite the win, Verstappen was cautious about future races, especially with the title fight heating up. He now sits just one point behind Lando Norris in the 2025 drivers’ championship heading into Bahrain.
“This was a great result, but qualifying was very important here.
This doesn’t mean we’re going to win every race now. But we can be very happy with this performance.”
With Bahrain next on the calendar—a track known for its heat and high degradation—Verstappen knows consistency and adaptation will be key as Red Bull continues their battle with an increasingly competitive McLaren.
Final Thoughts
While Suzuka showcased Verstappen’s racecraft and strategic discipline, it also highlighted the rising threat of McLaren. His quip about disappearing in a Papaya Orange car may have been tongue-in-cheek, but it underlines a growing truth: the 2025 title fight is anything but over.
