Japanese Grand Prix winner Max Verstappen admitted he was “lucky” to keep the lead at the start of the race after coming under heavy pressure from both McLaren drivers.
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Verstappen began the race from pole and led from the opening lap, but both McLarens — Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris — threatened his position on the run to the first corner.
Piastri, starting on the right-hand side of the grid in second, pulled alongside Verstappen on the inside as they approached turn one. At the same time Norris, who started third, made a strong start and looked to the outside of the Red Bull, briefly appearing ahead through turn one before being repelled into turn two.
Verstappen described the intensity of that opening sequence and how both McLarens seemed to have the jump as they converged on the corner.
“I saw in the right mirror that Oscar had a little bit of a jump on me, but at the same time I saw in my left mirror that Lando had a real jump on me,” Verstappen said.
“I tried to close off Oscar, but he was still there. Then I saw on the left side Lando coming with a lot more speed. He then moved a bit to the right and I was like, ‘I can’t go more to the right’.
“So I was trying to get straight. Luckily, of course, nothing happened. It all got quite close, but that’s racing – that’s how it goes at the start.”
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Norris said he “actually got into the lead for maybe half a second” before falling back, with Verstappen finding better grip on the inside of the next corner.
“We had a good battle also into turn one, into two,” Verstappen added. “I was lucky – I think there was a bit more grip in turn two, just on the normal line instead of trying to go around the outside.”
Piastri, who lost ground to his team mate at the start, admitted he decided to be cautious into turn one rather than attempt a risky move for the lead.
“Looking back on it now, I was in the perfect position to emulate Senna and Prost…” Piastri joked.
“I saw I got a good launch. I got a bit too excited on the throttle pedal in the second part of the start. At that point I knew I wasn’t far enough alongside Max. I could see Lando was coming around the outside, so I think settling for third was definitely just the safest option at that point.”
The trio finished the race in the same order they exited turn two on the opening lap: Verstappen took the win, Norris finished second, and Piastri secured his first career podium in third.
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