DHL FASTEST LAP AWARD

Max Verstappen makes comeback in all quarters in Japan – including the DHL Fastest Lap

As was the case in 2023, Max Verstappen struck back again decisively in the 2024 Japanese GP after having had a disappointing weekend last time out. While it was defeat in Singapore in 2023, he’s had to wait two weeks to put what was a technical retirement this year in Australia behind him. However, he was absolutely the man to beat once again as soon as he’d taken his place in the cockpit in Japan.

Well, not quite unbeatable to begin with, as his team-mate Sergio Perez came within 66 thousandths of him in qualifying. What’s more, Verstappen had concerns about his RB20’s race pace, saying: “The pace wasn’t where we would have liked it to be. That’s a question mark for tomorrow.”

And so it was over the first few laps of the race after Verstappen had had a minor disagreement before the start with long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase about the right setup. Verstappen: “We had, well, not an argument, but he was like, ‘are you sure you want to do this? I’m like, ‘yeah, I’m pretty sure’. Turned out to be wrong. So he was right.” Lambiase later put the matter to bed during the race via the pit radio with the words: “I won’t say I told you so...”

Still, the two of them are known for their friendly digs at one another and for their snappy comments, and it’s what makes for their excellent relationship, as Verstappen told us: “In a way, it also fires me up, because I’m like, OK, well, even I’m not entirely happy with the balance now, I’ll still try to be as consistent as I can be without shouting back at him. But we have a great relationship. And yeah, it works well like that.”

The RB20 was perfectly balanced by the end of the race, and Verstappen unbeatable. Not only did he win with a lead of over twelve seconds, he also used his advantage over the pack to great effect and slowly recharged his hybrid system over one lap and then went on to burn a 1:33.706 into the asphalt with full power, taking the DHL Fastest Lap and another bonus point.

“It was a great team result the whole weekend and brilliant to score a one-two here, our third of the season,” said a jubilant Verstappen. “Suzuka is always a great track to go racing at, and overall I am really happy about the performance today.”