After the Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen could almost become an engineer, able to draw the rear end of Pierre Gasly’s Alpine in detail. This sarcastic take perfectly summarizes the Sunday experienced by the Red Bull driver.
Just a P8 finish and 53 laps behind his former teammate. It was “funny” – for us spectators – when he waved after being overtaken due to a lack of battery. Far less funny for the world champion, who is increasingly frustrated by this new generation of cars.
In post-race interviews, Verstappen released his irony to lighten the tension created on Thursday after a spat with a British journalist. According to the Dutchman, from the start he was counting the laps remaining to the finish. Max’s Sundays now seem almost like a scripted routine.
Battery management continues to frustrate Verstappen
His irritation with battery management shows no signs of easing: “You can’t really make a proper overtake! I mean, you can, but on the next straight you won’t have battery,” Verstappen repeated, explaining the main reason he couldn’t get past a well-performing Alpine benefiting from the Mercedes power unit.
Japanese GP: Verstappen takes a philosophical approach
Compared to previous races, Max decided not to harshly criticize the new direction F1 has taken and adopted a new method: “taking it philosophically.”
He also hinted that he is considering whether to continue racing under these conditions or take a break from the pinnacle of motorsport. “Without the right deployment you can’t overtake. I mean, I’ll take it philosophically; there’s no point being frustrated all the time. But it’s clear that things shouldn’t work like this,” he said.
“I was counting the laps left. I was always behind Gasly. Even in China it was the same, although in that case I was behind many cars.”
Touching again on the veiled idea of retirement, Verstappen added: “In the coming months I’ll think about my future. Life goes on; F1 isn’t the only priority. There are other things.”
How F1 has changed in just a few months
In recent years, we were used to seeing a dominant Max Verstappen. Now, it almost feels surreal to see a driver of his caliber absent from the battle for the top positions, forced to chase, to manage rather than attack, and to count laps instead of building a victory.
Unfortunately, it feels like this is not just a bad phase, but a deeper fracture between a driver used to excellence and an F1 that, at least for now, seems to no longer speak the same language.
As the championship continues, the real question is not so much when the four-time world champion will lift a trophy again, but how much longer he will be willing to play a game that no longer feels like his own.
In the meantime, Verstappen has already started looking around. For the good of the sport, F1 may need to listen to the criticisms of its star driver about the new regulations and find a way to restore the DNA that has always made this sport the king of motorsport.
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