23/09/2023
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen: "It's been a crazy weekend so far, we've been on another level. The car was on the rails and I could really push it to the limit.
"I fully sent it today. When the car is good it makes the track feel even more special, it really bought a big smile to my face. I only had three sets of new tyres so had to be careful with how I used them. Looking ahead to tomorrow, degradation will be high so we need to look after our tyres. 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."
Sergio Perez: "It wasn't as straightforward as we were expecting it to be today. I had quite a scrappy qualifying and we have struggled a bit with the balance of the car over the weekend. Ultimately, losing our second set of tyres in Q2 and going into Q3 with a single set really put us on the back foot. We thought we didn't have the margin, so ultimately it meant that we missed out. Today wasn't ideal, but we gave it our very best and I really believe that we can still have a strong race tomorrow. McLaren have a strong race pace, so I think it will be a good battle with them tomorrow. Finally, Max has also been on really good form and we are looking forward to the race day tomorrow; hopefully we can come home with the Championship and finish in P1 and P2 tomorrow."
Christian Horner: "We witnessed something very special today. Max was in a different league. He had 3 sets of tyres. Hist first lap in Q1 was quick. Q2, on scrubs, was also quick and then he had two new tyres in Q3 which turned in that incredible performance. I encourage you to look at the replay on the final lap and focus on turns 5, 6 and then that high speed section. It really was quite outstanding and you have to take your hat off to him. Checo drove well. Starting in 5th means he will have a little more work to do, but he has good race pace, a strong car, he can overtake well here, so that should set him up for a good race."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Suzuka here.