Max Verstappen produced a perfect response to his struggles in Singapore when he hit the track at Suzuka for the first time this weekend. When the chequered flag waved at the end of FP1, the Dutchman was miles clear of the rest of the field.
The Dutch driver endured his toughest weekend of the season so far at the Singapore Grand Prix last weekend. Verstappen was knocked out of qualifying in Q2 on Saturday and could only recover to P5 in the race after a poorly timed safety car.
Even more concerning was the behaviour of the usually unwavering RB19. Both Verstappen and Sergio Perez were struggling with the balance of the car throughout the weekend, creating some hope that Red Bull’s struggles would translate to the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend.
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However, after punching in 25 laps in his RB19 machinery around the Suzuka circuit, Verstappen was standing alone at the top of the timing screens, six tenths clear of nearest challenger Carlos Sainz and a staggering 1.4 seconds clear of his team-mate.
This was in line with Lewis Hamilton’s predictions for the Red Bull team this weekend. The seven-time world champion said on Thursday: “I would think that if they’re not 30 seconds ahead like they have done in the past then something’s up!
“But, no, it was obviously a difficult weekend the last one but their car should be phenomenal here. They have been phenomenal all year long, they have aced pretty much every circuit. I mean it’s going to be great to watch that car in general.
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“Normally you would come here and it’s beautiful to watch the laps that they do because the whole team and the drivers are doing an amazing job with the package they have. So it will be interesting to see how the weekend goes. I hope it will be closer and I hope they are not as fast as that 30-second gap they have had in the past.”
Red Bull’s blistering pace wasn’t the only drama from FP1 as Logan Sargeant and Yuki Tsunoda nearly came together on track prompting furious reactions from both drivers.
The home hero reacted to the close call on the radio, saying: “It’s so unnecessary, man. This guy,” while Sargeant responded: “I don’t know why he wants to just sit under my rear wing for the whole run. Just stupid.”
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