Verstappen’s cheeky swipe at McLaren after Japan GP blunder
Max Verstappen has rubbed salt in the wound with a brutal comment about McLaren after their missed chance at the Japanese Grand Prix.
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Max Verstappen couldn’t resist sticking the boot into his F1 rivals as McLaren lick their wounds after a missed opportunity at the Japanese Grand Prix on the weekend.
Verstappen drove a blistering lap in qualifying to take pole position, which proved pivotal as he held off McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in Sunday’s race.
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The Suzuka Circuit was virtually impossible to overtake on given the lack of hard braking and DRS zones, meaning McLaren’s only real hope was to shake up their strategy.
Piastri pitted first and soon after Norris and Verstappen pitted at the same time, with Norris forced out onto the grass in a feisty moment as he got squeezed out by Verstappen exiting the pit lane.
McLaren’s strategy calls left commentators scratching their heads as the team seemed content with settling for second and third as the race came to an end with Verstappen crossing the line in a fairly dull procession.
Piastri was right behind Norris and showing better pace in the latter stages of the race, and the Aussie suggested over team radio he could swap places with his teammate in a bid to chase down Verstappen.
But those calls fell on deaf ears with McLaren seemingly intent on not rocking the boat too early in the season, resulting in them letting a chance of victory slip.
With Norris never able to get within DRS range of Verstappen, Piastri sat stuck behind his teammate in dirty air.
“There wasn’t much (debate on whether to swap) … I felt if I had track position I could go and get Max but that’s what happens when you qualify behind, unfortunately. I at least asked the question and I think that was a fair response,” Piastri said.
Verstappen was ecstatic with the victory but the Red Bull driver addressed the elephant in the room — the fact McLaren should have won the race in Japan.
“When I came here, I didn’t expect to win here at all – and after Friday, not at all,” Verstappen said to Viaplay after the race.
“Starting on pole was the most important thing this weekend. McLaren I think was faster, but they couldn’t get into the DRS to make a move.
“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.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was full of praise for his star driver, who is remarkably just one point behind championship leader Norris after three races, with Piastri 12 points behind in third.
“That was one of Max’s best weekends. Without any debate, he is the best driver in the world currently,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.
“The hard work was done (in qualifying) but he was inch perfect in the race.
“We worked hard to give him a car he was able to extract the most out of and he drove the wheels off it, he was stunning.”
With Red Bull’s car looking off the pace of McLaren, many had thought Verstappen’s hopes of winning a fifth consecutive drivers’ championship this year were slim to none.
But he has shown he won’t be a pushover as McLaren look to claim their first drivers’ title since Lewis Hamilton won in 2008.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was not convinced Piastri had been quite quick enough to warrant a mid-race swap.
“I don’t think it is so clear that Oscar was faster,” Stella said.
“Lando was trying to get Max’s slipstream even closer, but anytime you went below a second there was a significant loss of grip.
“At this track you need seven, eight tenths of performance advantage in order to be able to overtake.”
The F1 season continues with the Bahrain Grand Prix on Monday at 1am AEST.
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