Verstappen: The team is feeling confident for Suzuka

The reigning Formula 1 Champion retired from the race in Australia on the second lap with brake failure, while his teammate Sergio Perez raced to fifth having suffered from floor damage during the race, not to mention starting from sixth after receiving a three-place grid penalty for impeding in qualifying.

But there was always that perception that Ferrari, with took a one-two in Melbourne Carlos Sainz winning from Charles Leclerc, was better than Red Bull especially when dealing with tyre graining.

But we will never know how the Australian GP would've panned out due to Verstappen's DNF, and we can only look forward to another exciting tussle between the two teams this weekend in Suzuka.

Previewing this weekend's GP, Verstappen said: "Suzuka is always a great circuit to go racing at. As a Team, we have had a lot of special memories here over the years including winning last year's Constructors' Championship as well as winning my second Drivers' Championship here too.

"It has been nice to have had a break with family and friends before the racing starts and always fun to be able to spend some time in Tokyo too," he added. "The last race in Melbourne was unfortunate and these things happen, however we achieved nine race wins in a row, which is an impressive feat, so we are looking to come back even stronger for this weekend.

"The Team is feeling confident for Suzuka," the Dutchman insisted, "it is an iconic circuit and is always fun to drive. The track has a lot of high speed corners and high degradation and we need to ensure that we optimise our performance where we can, especially with rain forecasted for this weekend.

"I am looking forward to getting back in the car and ready to fight for the win this weekend," Verstappen, winner of the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix concluded.

Perez added: "I am looking forward to this week, Japan is always a great race on the calendar and this year we are going a lot earlier in the season, which will make things interesting.

"I always love going to Tokyo before the race week starts, the food in Japan is one of my favourite things so I will be making sure I enjoy that before heading to Suzuka to focus on the race.

"This circuit always provides exciting racing and the race down into turn one is iconic in the sport – it's fun if you come out on top there! The weather can sometimes really influence things here, with the rain that often comes and this time of year looks like it could be the same, so we will need to maximise the moments we get with the car to perfect the set up," the Mexican explained.

"Australia was not the best time for the Team, was a shame the penalty we had plus the damage on the race but we have overcome moments like this before. We want to be back on the podium this weekend," he concluded.

Red Bull are still leading the 2024 F1 Constructors' Championship from Ferrari but only by four points.