“La voiture était sur des rails”, Max Verstappen satisfied ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix
The Dutchman returns to the forefront after a Singapore Grand Prix that was far from his usual standards. The double world champion will start from pole position in Suzuka.
He killed the competition. Once again, Max Verstappen secured the pole position. At Suzuka, there is a huge gap between the Dutchman’s time and the rest of the pack. One week after Red Bull’s underperformance in Singapore, the Austrian team is back in the fight.
On the Japanese circuit, the Dutch driver made the most out of a car set up just the way he likes it. Particularly in the first sector where he managed to create a significant gap with his competitors. According to Formula Data Analysis, the double world champion only lost ground at turn 3, in that part of the track.
📊Minisectors
🔵RB/VER: king of Sector 1. Dominated every single meter from start to turn 8 apart from turn 8!
🟠McL/PIA: excellent traction and very low drag with closed DRS (turns 14 to 15)
🔴Ferrari/LEC: best in 4 corners (3/9/11/13) and one braking point#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/JUVPvrzOuj
— Formula Data Analysis (@FDataAnalysis) September 23, 2023
« It has been a crazy weekend so far, we have reached another level. The car was on rails and I could really push it to the max. I really showed what it can do today. When the car is good, it makes the track even more special, it really made me smile. I only had three sets of new tires, so I had to be careful with how I used them. For tomorrow, degradation will be significant and we will have to take care of our tires. It won’t be easy, that’s for sure », explains Max Verstappen.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s goal is to secure the constructors’ title as early as this Sunday on Honda’s home soil. To achieve this, the Austrian team must score one more point than Mercedes, and Ferrari must not score 24 more points than Red Bull.
