Max Verstappen is keen to confirm a second successive F1 Constructors' championship for Red Bull at the "first proper opportunity" at the Japanese Grand Prix. The Dutchman dominated qualifying to take pole by over half a second to McLaren's Oscar Piastri at Suzuka to set up what will likely be a day of celebration for the Milton Keynes-based outfit and the Japanese fans, given the technical relationship with Honda. Red Bull must outscore second-placed Mercedes by a point with Ferrari picking up 24 or more points over Verstappen and Perez combined in order to clinch the championship, though any extension will likely only last until the Qatar Grand Prix. On how special it would be to confirm the title in front of Honda's home fans, Verstappen told media including RacingNews365.com : "That was the aim, especially coming from Singapore. "I wanted to have a really strong weekend and of course, we know that this is the first proper opportunity to win it, so we also want to do that."
Working extremely hard
Perez slotted himself onto the second row of the grid late on in the session to shadow Piastri and teammate Lando Norris and will hope to find better performance in the race. The Mexican has been a valued part of the team's efforts since joining in 2021 and on the title climax he added: "It would be very special to do it here in front of all the Honda supporters. "They've been working extremely hard on the engine side as well, so it will be nice to get it done this weekend."
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