Verstappen: Simply lovely, I enjoyed the race

Despite his best efforts to play down his RB20's race pace, and apart from some initial excessive tyre degradation due to high temperatures early on in the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen was every bit as dominant as we have got used to see from him.

After taking his 57th Formula 1 career win, Verstappen reflected on his race in Red Bull's press release, he said: "Today was simply lovely and I really enjoyed the race.

"We stayed out of trouble in the first lap and from there, we tried to look after the tyres as much as possible. We made the right calls before we went into qualifying, which definitely helped today and it is very nice to come back and win after Australia.

"The car just got better throughout the race and, although it took a few laps before I got a nice rhythm as we didn't have many practices on the long runs, on the second stint the car really came alive. I could push where I needed to and I could look after my tyres well, so the race went really nicely," the Dutchman explained.

"It was a great Team result the whole weekend and brilliant to score a one two here: our third of the season. Suzuka is always a great track to go racing at and overall I am really happy about the performance today," he concluded.

Verstappen was followed by Sergio Perez in second place, a dominant display from Red Bull as boss Christian Horner reflected: "It was a great team performance today; fastest lap, a one-two finish, fastest pit stop and leading first and second in The Championship.

"So yeah, it's an amazing performance here, and one we are very proud of, particularly in Japan at the home of our engine partner, Honda. Max managed to control the race beautifully. He was away from the beginning and really looked after the tyres.

"But Checo has had a very strong agenda here. His qualifying yesterday was good. Better than he has managed in his career. And then his racing was fantastic. He came through the field and was very strong and maintained his pace.

"A brilliant race across the board, from all the Team. It is great to see," Horner concluded.

Verstappen is now leading the 2024 F1 Drivers' Standings by 13 points from Perez in second while Red Bull Racing now have a 21-point-advantage over Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship.