Max Verstappen has got to within a point of Lando Norris in the Drivers’ Championship after winning the Japanese Grand Prix.
Although Verstappen has won the last three races at Suzuka, it was an unlikely victory for the Dutchman considering how far off Red Bull was on Friday.
Red Bull made changes to his RB21 overnight including taking some of the downforce out of his car, which gave him superior straight-line speed to the McLarens.
It also paid off in the tricky wind conditions at Suzuka, which caught out Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris during their qualifying runs.
With Verstappen on pole and the Suzuka circuit being tough to overtake, he effectively led the race from lights to flag, although it was not without pressure from the McLaren’s.
Now that he is established as being in the hunt for the title, Fernando Alonso fears Verstappen could be heading in the same trajectory as he did during his title battle in 2012.
Fernando Alonso fears Max Verstappen could face 2012 title battle hurdle
Alonso missed out on titles in 2010 and 2012 due to Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel, having taken it down to the final race in both seasons.
Ferrari had the third-best car on the grid but Alonso was able to extract a result from it, although he would go on to miss out on both titles by a handful of points.
Red Bull has not started off the year with the best car but the Japanese GP has shown signs that they could turn things around, but Alonso warns that it could still be in vain.
“So far he’s doing well and keeping the championship alive. But I think he needs to improve the car to be really able to fight for the championship long term,” said Alonso.
“It reminds me a little bit of 2012 when you fight with the third or fourth fastest car until the last races. Eventually, Vettel won two championships and I’m afraid for Max that could happen again.”
McLaren strength over Red Bull ‘negated’ at Suzuka
McLaren has the quickest car on the grid but it is prone to specific changes in balance in certain conditions, like Norris and Piastri experienced in Suzuka.
The track is one of the hardest on tyres so McLaren expected a similar scenario as China to play out, but the resurfaced parts of Suzuka actually made it less stressful on the tyres.
This negated McLaren’s inherent advantage on tyre wear they have compared to Red Bull, which enabled Verstappen to keep a stable gap to Norris.
Coupled with his superior straight-line speed and the effect of the dirty air, Verstappen could keep both McLaren’s at bay without any problems.
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