1 Max’s rivals are admitting defeat already
After Max Verstappen’s unexpected hiccup in Melbourne, normal service was resumed in Japan. From pole position, Max scampered away from the chasing pack to score his 57th career win, and in the process reached another career milestone. He has now led over 6,000 laps in Formula 1. While his team-mate Sergio Pérez contributed to Red Bull’s 31st one-two finish, the ease of Verstappen’s triumph led to a rather bleak assessment of the destiny of this year’s world championship from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
“No-one is going to catch Max this year,” he said bluntly. “His driving and the car are just spectacular. You can see it by the way he manages his tyres.” Once again, Wolf added, the main intrigue in this season will concern who ends up “best of the rest”.
Verstappen and Pérez annexed the front row in qualifying and then, given hotter conditions on race day, took advantage of the brief red-flag period to make setup changes and reduce the angle of their front wings. Max, having gone ‘higher’ with his wing settings after a troubled FP3, was initially unconvinced but the change enabled him
