The Red Bull Formula 1 team principal, Christian Horner, believes Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri Having equal status made it more challenging for him. McLaren to fight Max Verstappen in Suzuka.
After being outperformed by Verstappen’s impressive pole position on Saturday, Norris and Piastri found themselves trying to catch up to the current world champion during the Grand Prix aboard their inherently faster McLaren. The single-stopper strategy used at Suzuka offered little chance for passing maneuvers throughout the race.
During his second stint, Piastri requested the team to switch positions so he could have an opportunity to race against Verstappen, believing he possessed additional speed.
However, that phone call never materialized, as team principal Andrea Stella remained unconvinced that Piastri was truly quicker than Norris when driving in the Red Bull’s unpolluted airflow.
“I’m not convinced Oscar was definitively quicker,” Stella stated. “Even though Lando aimed to stay within Max’s slipstream at an even tighter distance, every time he fell under a one-second gap, there was considerable degradation in handling.”
To have an overtaking opportunity at this circuit, you require a performance edge of about seven or eight-tenths.
Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing
Photo credit: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
Although Horner admires McLaren for fielding two competitive vehicles, something Red Bull has not achieved as they take their chances with Yuki Tsunoda As Verstappen’s most recent teammate, he felt that the team’s policy of treating drivers equally had drawbacks that made it more challenging for the squad to challenge the Dutch racer.
Piastri was moved to third place initially due to pressure from behind, which forced Norris to enter the pit lane on the same lap as Verstappen, eliminating any potential tactical choices.
"Perhaps their issue stems from having two drivers who are competing against each other for the drivers' championship," Horner suggested.
The challenge they face is that they’ve placed a wager allowing the competition to proceed. Thus, this compromise is an inevitable outcome of their agreement.
When asked whether Norris could have surpassed Verstappen by stopping one lap sooner, he responded: "The undercut seemed quite effective. It’s probably ‘what ifs’ all around the pit lane."
I believe most of the strenuous effort took place on Saturday. Probably around 90 percent of the vehicles completed the race in their initial positions. Today was essentially a full-speed dash. The wear and tear was minimal.
We understand the McLarens are incredibly swift. It required Max to be absolutely precise as he had two extremely quick McLarens closely following him.
For 53 laps, he didn’t make a single error and maintained enough speed to stay ahead of the competition, keeping them out of his DRS zone. I believe this might be one of Max’s finest weekends yet.
Additional reporting by Erwin Jaeggi
Images from the Japanese Grand Prix - Race
Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing
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Fans at the circuit
Isack Hadjar, Enthusiast of the Racing Bulls Team
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
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Liam Lawson, Member of the Racing Bulls Team
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Oliver Bearman with the Haas F1 Team
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Alexander Albon, of Williams, along with his partner, Lily Muni He
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Lewis Hamilton from Ferrari, Lando Norris from McLaren, George Russell with Mercedes, Esteban Ocon at Haas F1 Team
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Fans
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A supporter costumed up as Sebastian Vettel
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Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing, Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls team
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Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing
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Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin Racing
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Fans at the circuit
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
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Classic Geishas before the F1 Grand Prix
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
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Jack Doohan from Alpine, along with Oliver Bearman and Andrea Kimi Antonelli from the Haas F1 Team and Mercedes respectively, are notable figures in motorsport.
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Fans at the circuit
Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing
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Esteban Ocon, with the Haas F1 Team
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Nico Hulkenberg from Sauber, Lance Stroll with Aston Martin Racing
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Fans at the circuit
Fans at the circuit
Jack Doohan, Alpine
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Charles Leclerc from Ferrari, Carlos Sainz from Williams.
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Fans at the circuit
Fans at the circuit
Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes, Charles Leclerc from Ferrari, Esteban Ocon representing Alfa Romeo, and Kevin Magnussen from Haas F1 Team
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Oscar Piastri, McLaren
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Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing
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Liam Lawson, Member of the Racing Bulls Team
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Christian Horner, from Red Bull Racing, Stefano Domenicali, who serves as the CEO of the Formula One Group
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Yuki Tsunoda, belonging to the Red Bull Racing team
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Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing
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Jack Doohan, Alpine
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Ayao Komatsu, Haas F1 Team, Laura Mueller, Haas F1 Team Race Engineer
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Adam Norris, the dad of Lando Norris from the McLaren team,
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Max Verstappen, leading for Red Bull Racing, takes the lead from the starting line.
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Lewis Hamilton drives for Ferrari, while George Russell competes with Mercedes. Andrea Kimi Antonelli also races with Mercedes, alongside Isack Hadjar from Racing Bulls.
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Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin Racing, Pierre Gasly with Alpine, Oliver Bearman at Haas F1 Team
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Charles Leclerc from Ferrari, Fernando Alonso with Aston Martin Racing
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Lando Norris from McLaren, Oscar Piastri also with McLaren
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Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing
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Lando Norris from McLaren, Max Verstappen with Red Bull Racing
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Lando Norris from McLaren, Max Verstappen with Red Bull Racing
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Lando Norris from McLaren, Max Verstappen with Red Bull Racing
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
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Lando Norris from McLaren, along with Oscar Piastri who is also part of McLaren
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Isack Hadjar, The Racing Bulls Team
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Lando Norris from McLaren, along with Oscar Piastri, also at McLaren
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Oscar Piastri, McLaren
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Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing
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Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing
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Lando Norris, McLaren
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Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing
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Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
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Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing
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Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing
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Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing
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Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing
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Oscar Piastri, McLaren
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Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing
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Lando Norris from McLaren, Oscar Piastri with McLaren, Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing
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Oscar Piastri, McLaren
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Lando Norris from McLaren, Oscar Piastri with McLaren, Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing
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Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing
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Max Verstappen with Red Bull Racing, Yuki Tsunoda also part of Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner leading Red Bull Racing
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Lando Norris from McLaren, Andrea Stella from McLaren
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Lando Norris from McLaren, Oscar Piastri also with McLaren
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Oscar Piastri with McLaren, Andrea Stella also with McLaren
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Lando Norris, McLaren
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