2023 JAPANESE GP

RED BULL RB19 STARTED 1st

‘How could a wet-weather win like the 2019 German GP not make the cut?’, we hear you cry. That event, after all, cemented Verstappen’s long-held status as an F1 wet-weather great. But it also contained a shocking start, a clumsy spin, and might have been won by Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton had they not crashed. No such incidents featured in Verstappen’s rainmaster drive at Suzuka in 2022, which sealed his second crown (after various post-race rules sagas for Leclerc and the FIA), and we had in our original selection. But here Verstappen went rogue, as is his wont, by swapping his first Suzuka triumph out for his second with one red pen stroke. We’d want his wet-weather brilliance recognised but, as this is Max’s choice, here’s what happened on the day at what remains a track that really separates F1’s best from merely its good.

After a relatively sluggish start – something Red Bull’s drivers encountered across 2023 due to its unpredictable getaway system – Verstappen had the Mclaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri swarming. He saw the Australian off on the approach to Turn 1, but needed to be brave at Turn 2 to wrestle back his lead from pole. It was actually rather Suzuka 2022-esque – a year earlier, he’d been equally feisty in seeing off Leclerc’s attack at the same spot from a wet start.

From there in the 2023 race, Verstappen bolted clear before having to do that again at the early safety car restart. His initial pace over Norris was around 0.5s faster on average each time. The Briton was also slowed during the virtual safety car period activated by Sergio Perez’s second accident of the day, helping Verstappen build a lead of almost 10s.

He doubled it thereafter, just missing a preweekend target of wanting Red Bull to win by 20s (according to team boss Christian Horner) to provide a statement response to its Singapore GP defeat. The RB19 was on territory it loved, with Verstappen getting stuck into the corner types where he excels, all while being able to run softer tyres than the Mclarens for most of the race despite Suzuka’s abrasive surface and high-energy layout.