Suzuka. Max Verstappen won Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, snapping a “mini-slump” of two wins in the last 16 races, with a performance his Red Bull engineer described as “perfection.”

It marked Verstappen’s fourth consecutive victory at the Suzuka circuit in central Japan and halted the early-season momentum of McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who had won the opening two races in Australia and China.

“We still have work to do,” Verstappen said. “But it does show if we nail everything, we can be up there.”

And he did just that.

The four-time defending Formula 1 champion started from pole position after setting a course-record time in qualifying, which he called “insane.” Norris finished second, and Piastri third. The race ran incident-free on a dry track despite earlier rain.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc placed fourth, followed by Mercedes’ George Russell. Rookie Kimi Antonelli, Verstappen’s teammate, finished sixth. Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda came in 12th in his first race with Red Bull’s senior team.

“We keep pushing,” Verstappen said. “Unbelievable. A great weekend for us.”

After three races, Norris leads the drivers’ standings with 62 points, one ahead of Verstappen at 61.

Verstappen set the tone on Saturday with his pole-winning lap. Sunday's race featured only one notable moment—dubbed the “grass-cutting moment.” Around Lap 20, many frontrunners pitted. Verstappen and Norris exited the pits almost simultaneously, with Norris briefly veering into the grass as he attempted to rejoin the track behind Verstappen.

“He drove himself into the grass,” Verstappen said over the team radio.

Norris had no complaints.

“He had the position and the right to do what he did,” Norris said. Race stewards agreed, taking no further action.

After the race, Verstappen paid tribute to Japanese engine supplier Honda, which is ending its run with Red Bull after this season. The win was especially symbolic as Suzuka is Honda’s home circuit.

“It was fun, just pushing very hard at the end,” Verstappen said. “The two McLarens were pushing very hard. We didn’t give up on improving the car, and today it was in its best form.”

“Of course, starting from pole — that’s what made it possible to win this race.”

Norris stayed close behind Verstappen for much of the race but found no room to pass on Suzuka’s narrow layout.

“I could see Max quite clearly for the whole race but just couldn’t quite make any inroads,” Norris said. “I don’t need anyone to tell me what Max is capable of doing.”

Both Norris and Piastri suggested their cars have a slight edge this season. Still, the gap with rivals Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari remains slim.

“I think we have a small advantage,” Piastri said. “But any small mistake, and there’s a lot of competition ready to capitalize.”

The race start was clean, with Verstappen leading off the grid. He gradually extended his lead, maintaining a two-second gap over Norris through the first 15 laps.

In a brief highlight, 18-year-old Antonelli led mid-race by staying out longer before his tire change. He became the youngest driver to lead an F1 race and also set the fastest lap — another record.

Verstappen regained the lead on Lap 32, just 1.3 seconds ahead of Norris and 3.4 ahead of Piastri. On Lap 36, his race engineer radioed: “Push from here.”

And push he did — all the way to the 64th Grand Prix win of his career.

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