Far from the dominant streak shown in recent seasons in Formula 1, Red Bull wants to move past this poor start to the year, weighed down by Liam Lawson's disappointing performance. However, driven by the energy from Yuki Tsunoda's debut, Red Bull will try to help Verstappen achieve an unprecedented record in Japan, which can only be stopped by Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the wheel of their McLaren.

Verstappen's love affair with Japan

Three-time world champion consecutively from 2022 to 2024, Max Verstappen still doesn't know what it's like to climb onto the top step of the podium during the current Formula 1 season. He debuted with a second-place finish in the Australian GP behind Lando Norris, and dropped to fourth position in China. A situation we're not used to, which has Verstappen in second place in the Drivers' Championship, with Russel and Piastri following him closely.

However, Verstappen hopes everything returns to normal on a circuit where he has proven to handle things superbly over the past seasons… and where he expects to achieve a record never before seen in F1. Max Verstappen has the chance to become the first driver to win the Japanese Grand Prix for four consecutive editions.

McLaren goes for the treble

There is no doubt that Verstappen's motivation when facing the Japanese GP is at its highest, not only to achieve this record but also to begin turning around the situation for Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship. Right now, on the eve of the third race of the season, they are in third place with 36 points. Far behind McLaren (78) and Mercedes (57).

In fact, McLaren's main goal is to keep increasing this gap ahead of the awakening that, sooner or later, we all expect from Red Bull. There’s no reason to think otherwise, and their major goal for Japan is to stop this record that Max Verstappen is chasing, achieving what would be a historic treble for McLaren, which hasn’t won the first three races of the season since 1991.