Max Verstappen stunned Franz Tost at the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix as the Red Bull star delivered ‘one of the best’ qualifying laps to take pole as well as a ‘fantastic’ race.
The 27-year-old achieved a near-perfect performance at Suzuka last weekend to sit just one point behind McLaren pilot Lando Norris in the F1 drivers’ championship after three rounds. Verstappen shocked the 25-year-old to secure pole and ran largely unchallenged in the race.
Frantic work by Red Bull to overhaul Verstappen’s set-up ahead of qualifying gifted him a car the Dutchman could push to the limits at the Japanese GP. Pole position would also give him clean air during the race which Verstappen utilised to keep Norris at an arm’s length behind.
Max Verstappen reminded Lando Norris ‘I am the world champion’ in their Japanese Grand Prix pit exit tussle
Clean air was not his only edge as Suzuka’s resurfaced first section negated McLaren’s tyre wear advantage, which is their major strength over Red Bull. But Verstappen almost lost the lead of the Japanese GP to Norris in the pit stop phase after his stop was one second longer.
Norris cut Verstappen’s lead down to 1.391s before the McLaren driver followed his Red Bull rival into Suzuka’s pit lane at the end of Lap 21/53. His 2.3s stop compared to the Dutchman sitting stationary for 3.3s then gave the Briton a chance to pull level as they went to the exit.
READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
But Norris would not get far enough alongside Verstappen to dictate their lines and the four-time reigning champion held firm to stay ahead. Norris briefly argued Verstappen ‘forced me off’ but the McLaren ace drove himself into the grass rather than backing off and tucking in.
Verstappen’s refusal to change his line and risk Norris snatching the lead of the Japanese GP into Turn 1 was also a clear reminder to the Briton that he is the current drivers’ champion for Tost. The ex-Toro Rosso team boss was hugely impressed by the Dutchman’s stance, too.
Tost has told the Inside Line F1 Podcast: “After the pit stop when he stayed on his line and when he said, ‘Look, I am Max. I am the world champion, yeah? You just stay behind me’. Here, it’s unbelievable.”
Franz Tost hails Max Verstappen’s Suzuka pole as ‘one of the best’ qualifying laps in F1 history
Verstappen simply left Tost in awe with his performance at the Japanese GP as the Red Bull driver scored his first win of the 2025 F1 season to trim Norris’ championship lead down to just one point. He delivered one of the great qualifying laps and then a very intelligent race.
“His qualifying lap, I think this was one of the best qualifying laps you will have ever seen,” Tost said. “Everywhere totally on the limit and taking the most out of the car. And then in the race, how clever he drove the race.
“He knew where to save the tyres, to do the tyre management [and] he knew where to push to not give the McLarens a chance to come within one second of him so they got the DRS. All these kind of things he did during the race were really fantastic.
Leave feedback about this