The Dutchman saw off the threat of team-mate Sergio Perez to cruise home to victory at Suzuka, returning to winning ways after a brake issue forced him to retire on lap four of the Australian Grand Prix two weeks prior. With three wins from a possible four, the Dutchman now holds a 13-point lead at the top of the standings.
In the aftermath of Verstappen’s latest triumph, Wolff said: “No one is going to catch Max this year. He’s driving and the car is just spectacular. You can see where he manages the tyres. And basically, this season now is [about being the] best of the rest.
“That’s the fight that’s on. Hopefully, we can catch up to the McLaren and to the Ferraris and fight for P2. This is, this is what it is this year and what it is what it was last year. We had a P2 last year.”
When these comments were pitted to Horner, the Red Bull boss replied: “It’s very early to write off your year, but there’s still 20 races to go, but, I’ve learned not to listen too much to what Toto has said over the years.”
Wolff’s pessimism may stem from another miserable weekend for his team. Mercedes entered qualifying with plenty of optimism following one of their strongest practice programmes of the season, but that hope rapidly disappeared as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell ended Q3 in P7 and P9 respectively.
The Grand Prix offered little reprise for the Silver Arrows with both drivers plunged onto the inferior alternative strategy after an early red flag allowed Mercedes strategists to rid both Hamilton and Russell of their medium compound tyres, opting for back-to-back hard tyre stints to round off their races.
While Russell deviated from this strategy late on and salvaged a P7 finish with a last-lap move on Oscar Piastri, Hamilton was left languishing down in P9. The seven-time world champion has endured a miserable start to his final season with the Brackley-based team, and team principal Wolff is also feeling the heat.
