Max Verstappen Jokes "You Wouldn't Have Seen Me" if He was in a McLaren

Nelson Espinal | Apr 7, 2025

[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] April 5, 2025; Suzuka, JAPAN; Max Verstappen reacts after qualifying for pole position during qualifying for the F1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Manami Yamada/Reuters via Imagn Images / Manami Yamada/Reuters via Imagn Images

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen sent a message to McLaren and their drivers by claiming that he would have won the race more easily if he were in the Papaya car.

Despite winning the Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen said, "In that car you wouldn't have even seen me," referring to the MCL39.

Throughout the race, the Sky Sports broadcast frequently highlighted Verstappen, as Norris closely challenged him during the event.

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The race weekend seemed to suggest another McLaren domination, but Verstappen kept refining the set-up of his RB21 and found the right operating window to achieve a surprising pole position.

Then in the race, he maintained the lead and secured Red Bull's first win of the season.

"When I came here, I didn't expect to win here at all - and after Friday, not at all," Verstappen told Viaplay

YESSS 🙌 Incredible, this is a huge highlight for us here @redbullracing 🎌 pic.twitter.com/A4A8RDAvgY

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) April 5, 2025

"Starting on pole was the most important thing this weekend. McLaren I think was faster, but they couldn't get into the DRS to make a move."

"I'm very happy with what I'm doing, I don't even want to think about it if I'd been in that other car [McLaren]. Then you wouldn't have seen me."

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The result is seemingly not a sign that the car will generate similar results on every track.

"This was a great result, but it was difficult to overtake and qualifying was very important here," he said.

"This does not mean that everything is now suddenly hosanna and that we are going to win all the races, but we can be very happy with this."

🎌 This one means a lot. What a great weekend for us, we never give up 💪 pic.twitter.com/jKmCs2un2t

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) April 6, 2025

Verstappen understands that the race conditions made overtaking challenging for all the cars, and the final result would hinge on track position.

"A lot of fast corners and that makes it very hard to follow - the tyres get very hot when you get close to someone.

"The cars get better every year as well, with a lot of dirty air, so it just gets harder and harder. When the lap times are quite close together without a lot of tyre degradation, then it becomes very difficult."

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Verstappen and Red Bull head to Bahrain, where achieving a similar result will be challenging. However, with upgrades on the way, the gap to McLaren could be narrowing.

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