Max Verstappen paid tribute to his unstoppable car as Red Bull’s reigning champion returned to winning ways in Japan.

Verstappen brushed off the stoppage that was caused on lap one by a crash between Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon, which brought out the red flag for half an hour, to cruise to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix for a third year in a row.

In doing so, the triple world champion consigned the disappointment of his early retirement at the Australian Grand Prix to the history books.

‘It was a very, very good win,’ said the Dutchman, who has a 13-point lead over team-mate Sergio Perez at the top of the drivers’ standings.

‘After the first stint some tiny adjustments were made to the car and that helped me to feel even more comfortable.

Max Verstappen has won the Japanese Grand Prix with team-mate Sergio Perez in second

The race saw an early delay after Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo made a mess of the tyre wall in the opening lap

Verstappen bounced back brilliantly from a disappointing display in Melbourne last time out

‘Whenever I needed to go faster, I could. Whenever I needed to look after my tyres, I could. That’s always a very nice feeling when you’re driving.’

Perez came home second, securing a third one-two finish in four races for Red Bull this season, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz completing the podium ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris in fifth.

It was another difficult weekend for Mercedes, with George Russell finishing seventh and Lewis Hamilton ninth. Beleaguered team boss Toto Wolff suggested after the race that no one will be able to catch Verstappen this year. The man himself, though, gave short shrift to those niceties.

‘Lately, Toto has been really nice, saying a lot of nice things about me!’ joked the 26-year-old in response to the comments from Wolff, who has a seat to fill for the 2025 season and has openly teased the possibility of joining forces with Verstappen.

Carlos Sainz finished third in his Ferrari after a dramatic win in Melbourne last time out

The Ferraris and McLarens played out a fascinating game of cat-and-mouse on Sunday

Lewis Hamilton again endured a difficult outing for Mercedes, coming home in ninth, two places behind George Russell

‘No, I don’t know. It’s still a very long season. I don’t want to think about the rest of the season too much. I really want to approach it race by race.’

Meanwhile, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner confirmed Mail Sport’s story that his former PA is back working for him on a temporary basis following the fall-out of an internal investigation which saw a female employee suspended from her job.

The employee concerned has appealed against the outcome of the inquiry, which cleared Horner of inappropriate behaviour three days before the start of the new season. He has always denied the claims.

Horner said: ‘I’m surprised I’m talking about my assistant in a briefing but yes, my assistant of 15 years is in a temporary supporting position.’