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.

Share Or Save This Story

Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake Boxall-Legge Autosport’s Technical Editor. Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.