SUZUKA, Japan -- Perfection. Magical. Inspirational. Whatever word you used to frame Max Verstappen's Japanese Grand Prix victory -- and superlatives were in high supply throughout the weekend -- it was something special.
Sunday's race was not a classic by any means, but Verstappen's weekend was a vintage of a different kind. It was a race win built on the bedrock of a scintillating qualifying lap that beat the benchmark McLarens to pole position on Saturday, and then the trademark pace and unshakeable composure which kept both orange cars at arm's length on Sunday, even when the consensus was they have the class-leading car in the F1 field.
Speaking on the radio just after the checkered flag, long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase succinctly summed up Verstappen's performance: "That's perfection. Just perfection, Max. Fantastic." It was hard to disagree. Bar a short period in the pit-stop phase and a close shave with Lando Norris on pit exit, Verstappen had controlled proceedings out in front. Red Bull boss Christian Horner labeled the four-time world champion's performance "inspirational" in his own congratulatory message on the cool-down lap.
The victory moved Verstappen a point behind Norris in the championship after three races, a remarkable feat given both McLaren's pace so far this season and Red Bull's ongoing struggles with its RB21 car. It was a weekend that continued to bolster his growing legend as a man able to do special things with whatever machine he has to drive.
Never in doubt
The lead-in to the Japanese Grand Prix had centered on Red Bull's decision to hand Verstappen his third different teammate in only four races, with Yuki Tsunoda stepping in to replace Liam Lawson. The latter had become the latest victim of the poisoned chalice that is the second Red Bull seat, finishing last in both the sprint and the grand prix in China. Tsunoda actually started the weekend strongly in terms of pace, finishing close to Verstappen in both of Friday's practice sessions, but a scruffy lap in Q2 saw him qualify down the order when it mattered.
The incredible Verstappen pole lap that followed in Q3 highlighted the contrast between the new teammates. Two-time world champion and Le Mans 24 Hour winner Fernando Alonso, one of the most complete racing talents of the modern era, watched in awe in the media pen as the lap unfolded and the Dutchman's name moved to the top of the timing screens.
"He's an outstanding driver. He's proving it every weekend," the Aston Martin driver said afterward. "Hats off for him. I think the lap he did today is only down to him. I think the car is clearly not at the level to fight for pole or even the top five. But he manages to do that magical laps and magical weekends. At the moment, he's the best, he's the reference for all of us, and we need to keep improving to reach that level."
That rising reference point has ultimately been the crux of Red Bull's issues with the second car. Verstappen's generational talent has been obvious from the moment he first drove a Formula 1 car, but his ability to drive everything to -- and, those within Red Bull will often tell you, beyond -- its natural limit has become more and more apparent in recent seasons. In 2024, he started with a dominant car, but his championship victory rested on the steady points he gathered as Red Bull's season started to crumble. Teammates have simply not been able to match him.
An easy, and perhaps overly simplistic, way of explaining Red Bull's car design philosophy might be this: If he can drive it, we will build it. An obvious payoff has been four drivers' championships. A consequence of that reared its head last year, as the RB20 became more of a handful to drive, an erratic machine that even Verstappen grew to loathe by the summer. Sergio Pérez's form took a nosedive, and Red Bull lost the constructors' championship -- Verstappen was able to accumulate points he needed, while also winning brilliantly in places like Brazil, to take home his fourth straight individual title.
Just how bad the RB21 is remains an open question in the F1 paddock -- the lack of a good reference point from the other car makes it a hard one to answer. The age-old question of driver vs. machine has lingered throughout the story of Formula 1 and you will find some people in the paddock who will say the Red Bull is far better than people give credit for. Wherever you fall on that performance, few people at Red Bull could remember a better overall performance.
"I think that's one of Max's best weekends that he's had," Horner, team boss since Red Bull's inception, said on Sunday. "We literally turned the car upside down, set-up-wise. He's worked very hard with the engineering team. Finally, we were able to give him a car that he could make use of in Q3 yesterday with the most stunning lap. And then convert that today in a hard-fought victory, in a straight fight. Puts him one point behind in the Drivers' Championship. We managed to get the car into a decent window and then Max Verstappen demonstrated why he's got the No. 1 on the car."
The praise for Verstappen was loudest on Saturday, but his place atop the podium, flanked by the two drivers most pundits expect to battle for the drivers' championship, was a fitting reflection of the respect he commands across the paddock.
Asked by ESPN on Sunday if what he's doing with the RB21 feels as special to him as they did to everyone watching, the Dutchman said: "Yeah, it does. It also means that I really care, even though, of course, it's not been the easiest start to the year for us. You know, we are not where we want to be in terms of performance. I think that's no secret. But, yeah, this weekend, yeah, it's been really, just really, really nice.
"I don't listen to the positives and the negatives. I'm just in the middle, you know, so I just focus on my own performances. And, yeah, just keep working, keep grinding."
Can Verstappen make it a three-way fight?
In three races, three different drivers converted pole position into victory: Norris in Australia, Oscar Piastri in China and now Verstappen in Japan. The three men shared the podium at Suzuka. Norris had dismissed talk of McLaren having an unbeatable car as "nonsense" during Suzuka's media day on Thursday, and clearly the team views Sunday's winner as the third wheel in their burgeoning intra-team title fight.
"We treat Max and Red Bull like warriors," McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said on Sunday. "When Max elevates the game so much, you need to nail laps in qualifying and you need to bring home any possible millisecond."
Red Bull's Max Verstappen along with Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc react to the Japan GP.
Whether Verstappen can stay in the fight now might be the biggest story of this portion of the season, especially if Red Bull can do with their car what McLaren was able to achieve with its own 12 months ago. Asked on Sunday whether he felt Verstappen could stay in the fight all year, Alonso had memories of his own 2012 season when he infamously came agonizingly short of a third world championship in a car considered to be second, third and fourth quickest at different parts of the season.
Shaking his head on hearing the question, Alonso said: "I don't know, I've been there, I've been fighting for world championships with the fourth-fastest car, so you know, at the end it's difficult, as it was difficult for me to beat [Sebastian] Vettel. I hope for him he can fight until the end, but they need to improve a little bit the machine.
"He won four, so he can fight with a little bit [of a] less competitive car, but yeah, it's hard and I think the people don't realize how difficult it is and how you need to make it perfect every weekend, and he's doing it so far. It reminds me of my 2012 in a way, when the car was not so good and we fought for the championship, but to win it at the end, let's see, I hope for him he can win it."
McLaren's fight will be a boon to Verstappen, too. Piastri has had an impressive start to the season, and his pace has been much closer to Norris (and on a more consistent basis) than it was last year. The fact the Australian was hinting at a position swap with Norris in the closing stages gives a tantalizing glimpse at the headaches McLaren has been anticipating from its two mega-talented race drivers as this season progresses.
As has always been the case when teammates have fought together for a championship, a flashpoint will be a matter of when -- not if -- especially in a season spanning 24 races. Any driver at a rival team would benefit from that situation - for a driver as talented as Red Bull's lead, it could be the perfect opportunity to secure a legitimate shot at a fifth title, regardless of how much the team improves the car.
Verstappen responded to the suggestion of his championship challenge in typical fashion. When asked if 2025 is a three-way fight, he said: "I don't know. I mean, there's still ... it's a very long season. A lot of things can happen, right? I think what is important is that you always try to just maximize your performances. That's the only thing that you can control. So that's what I'll try to do."
He may not shout about it, but Verstappen's greatness speaks for itself -- understated, relentless and impossible to ignore.