Christian Horner shares 5-word remark about Max Verstappen as the driver wins the F1 Japanese GP

Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion, unleashed his masterclass in the Japanese GP to register his first win of the season. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, meanwhile, was overwhelmed with the Dutch driver's performance and shared an appreciation post on social media.

After two races into the 2025 F1 season, Verstappen tasted success for the first time this season. During the qualifying session, the Dutchman overpowered Lando Norris with a flyer lap to win pole position despite racing in a slower car compared to McLaren.

Moreover, during the main race on Sunday, Verstappen kept both McLaren drivers at bay to cross the checkered flag first. This marked Max's and Red Bull's first victory of the year, and the team was certainly ecstatic.

Horner shared a special message for Verstappen through an Instagram story.

"Fourth consecutive wins at Suzuka!" Horner said in the caption.

Screengrab of Christian Horner's Instagram story [Image Source: @christianhorner/Instagram]

Verstappen hasn't been beaten at Suzuka Circuit since 2019. With this latest triumph, he became the only driver in the history of F1 to win four back-to-back races in Japan. Not only that, the four-time world champion set the fastest lap in Suzuka circuit's history with his flyer lap of 1:26.983 minutes that earned him a pole position in the qualifying session.

Verstappen's race to P1, however, was not smooth. He had McLaren drivers chasing him throughout the 53 laps. Moreover, during his first pitstop, he had an incident with Norris at the exit of the lane. The McLaren driver slipped into the grass and accused Max of pushing him wide as they came wheel-to-wheel.

However, FIA didn't investigate the matter, and both drivers avoided a potential penalty. That being said, with this win, Verstappen now has 61 points in the championship table, only one point short of table leader Lando Norris.

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Christian Horner lauds Max Verstappen's flawless drive in Japan

Christian Horner [L] with Max Verstappen [R] F1 Grand Prix Of Japan Source: Getty

Max Verstappen's recent win in Japan left F1 fans and critics in awe. He started the race from pole position and drove a clean race to get his first victory of the year. Moreover, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner lauded his driver's flawless race and said (via ESPN):

"We know that McLarens are very, very fast, and it needed Max to be inch-perfect with two very fast McLarens right behind him, and for 53 laps, he made not a single mistake. I think that's one of Max's best weekends. We literally turned the car upside down, setup-wise, and he's worked very hard with the engineering team".

Max Verstappen noted issues with the balance of the RB21 after the qualifying session, despite winning pole. Hence, as Horner said, the team changed the setup to make the car more drivable and comfortable for Verstappen to convert his pole into a race win.