Week in and week out, Max Verstappen just keeps adding accolades to his name and especially after the Japanese GP, there is no stopping him. Even when you think the Dutchman has made everyone numb with his winning streak, he produces something incredible every race weekend. After Singapore, many cooled the jets on the Verstappen burner. However, the Red Bull man ignited the fire around his name once again in Japan. In fact, his driving in Japan, even before the race, earned him mega praise from an ex-Ferrari boss.
Forget the Japanese GP race where Verstappen “single-handedly” won Red Bull the constructor’s title. His driving before the race was incredible enough to send a shiver down Peter Windsor‘s spine. The ex-Ferrari boss revealed that in his conversation with YouTube creator Cameron F1.
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Windsor said, “I actually got more out of it watching the camera remove shots. I wasn’t able to get exactly the feel on the onboard. It was more looking at how he was positioning the car and the rear shot out of 1B. That was spine-chilling for me, how good he was there. From that moment it was pretty clear he was going to nail it. Just from that one exit point from 1B.”
Read More: “Kiss Me”: Pole-Sitter Max Verstappen Set to Turn On Japan’s Unique Attraction
As pointed out by Windsor, the Japanese GP qualifying lap from Verstappen was nothing short of extraordinary. Some might say it’s the best they have ever seen, but fueled the fire for this extraordinary lap? We believe it was the Singapore GP and even Verstappen partly agrees.
Max Verstappen shuts down Red Bull doubters with an extraordinary display and statement
The Dutchman was on pole and poles apart in the Japanese GP, especially in the qualifying. Verstappen was rapid and even broke Michael Schumacher’s 20-year-old record with his flying lap.
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The margin for the pole sitter from second-placed Oscar Piastri was a massive 0.581 seconds. Add a couple of tenths to this number and that’s how far behind his teammate was. This pole position was enough to shut the doubters, who gained some traction after the Singapore GP.
When asked if he was making a statement of intent in Japan with his qualifying lap, Verstappen said, “We had a bad weekend. Of course, then people start talking about it: ‘It’s all because of the Technical Directives.’ Well, I think they can go suck on an egg!”
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It was surely a statement of intent, and now the intention is clear for the next six races. Can Red Bull go the distance with just one black mark in their entire season?