Max Verstappen says Red Bull’s primary objective at ‘Honda’s home turf’ is to win the constructors title
Red Bull currently leads the constructor title race with 597 points. Mercedes and Ferrari trailing behind at 289 and 265 points, respectively.
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Adrian Newey and Max Verstappen (Via IMAGO)
Max Verstappen clinched the pole position at the Japanese GP qualifying by outpacing all other drivers by a margin of more than half a second. Acknowledging their favorable position to secure the Constructors’ Championship at the Japanese GP, Verstappen emphasizes that their primary goal is to secure the championship on their home turf at Honda’s home track.
The Suzuka International Circuit in Japan, established in 1962, originated as a Honda test track. Notably, there is strong support for Red Bull and AlphaTauri at Suzuka due to their connections with Japanese Auto Industry giants. Max Verstappen secured his second world title in 2022 at the Suzuka GP. In 2023, Red Bull can claim the constructor championship on their home turf.
Acknowledging the prospect of winning the constructors’ championship at the Japanese GP, Max Verstappen stated the importance of careful tire management strategies due to the significant tire degradation caused by the Suzuka track surface.
“I only had three sets of new tires [for quali] so I had to be careful with how I used them. Looking ahead to tomorrow, degradation will be high so we need to look after our tires. It won’t be straightforward that’s for sure. The aim is to win the Constructors Championship this weekend, especially on Honda’s home turf,” said Max Verstappen.
Sergio Perez expresses regret over qualifying mistake at Suzuka
Max Verstappen claimed P1 for tomorrow’s grid, while his teammate Sergio Perez took P5, trailing behind McLaren and Charles Leclerc. Perez admitted to a qualifying mistake that left him regretting not being on the front row for the Japanese Grand Prix.
In Q2, Sergio Perez opted to use a second set of Soft tires, even though his initial lap time was sufficient to secure a spot in Q3. This decision was made because both McLaren drivers had posted faster times in their initial runs. As a result, Perez had only one new set of tires left for the final Q3 runs.
Perez acknowledged that using the new tires set could have helped him in securing a front-row position. “Definitely P2 and the front row was on the cards today. Using that second set in Q2 was not ideal, and that put us on the back foot to McLaren, mainly by not having a set of new tires…Hopefully, we can finish one tomorrow and seal the Constructors’ title,” said Sergio Perez, as reported by racingnews365.com
In case you missed it:
- Sergio Perez spill the beans on why he was poor at the Singapore GP ahead of the Suzuka race
- Max Verstappen claims that the Red Bull car is “enjoyable to drive again” following Singapore drama
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Tanishka Sharma
(31 Articles Published)