Max Verstappen delivers 'caring' response to 'special' Red Bull question

Max Verstappen has thanked those who praised him for his remarkable Japanese Grand Prix performance, believing it shows he does care about such comments.

The four-time F1 champion was showered with plaudits up and down the paddock following his astonishing qualifying lap to secure a vital pole position that allowed him to control the race from the front en route to a record fourth successive victory at Suzuka.

Fellow champion Fernando Alonso described Verstappen's pole lap as "magical"; the Dutch driver's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, said it was "insane', whilst team boss Christian Horner hailed his driver as "Mr Motivator" following an "inch-perfect" drive in the grand prix.

Whilst the race itself was nothing to write home about, Verstappen's performance over the weekend was memorable.

As to whether such a display felt as special to him, given the constraints of the RB21, as it did for those viewing it, speaking to media, including RacingNews365, Verstappen said: "Yeah, it does.

"It also means, I guess, that I really care, even though, of course, it's not been the easiest start to the year for us.

"You know, we are not where we want to be in terms of performance. That's no secret. But yeah, the weekend has been really, really nice.

"Sometimes you have those kinds of moments where you get some really great laps out of it [the car]. Luckily, of course, the balance was a bit more together throughout qualifying. We just have to keep on working.

"I mean it's nice, but I'm a bit of a person...I don't listen to the positives and the negatives. I'm just in the middle. I just focus on my performances, and just keep working, keep grinding."

Verstappen - 'A lot of things can happen'

Verstappen's victory, the 64th of his F1 career, has pushed him to within one point of Norris at the top of the drivers' standings.

With Piastri finishing third, the Australian is 13 points shy of his team-mate, with a potential battle royale between the trio possible through to the end of the season in Abu Dhabi in December.

As to whether he was anticipating a three-way fight, Verstappen said: "I don't know. It's a very long season. A lot of things can happen, right?

"What is important is that you always try to maximise your performance. That’s the only thing that you can control.

"So that’s what I’ll try to do and we’ll see in, what is it, 21 races, where we're at. Good or bad."