Verstappen delivers honest Red Bull assessment after Suzuka glory

Max Verstappen has delivered an honest assessment of Red Bull's current performance following a comfortable victory in the Japanese Grand Prix. 

The reigning world champion converted a shock pole position into a fourth consecutive win at Suzuka, breaking the record for most victories in a row at the venue.

It was a special celebration for Red Bull and Honda, in what was the final home race for the Japanese manufacturer as the Austrian outfit's power unit supplier. 

In addition, Verstappen's win marked the first time this season that Red Bull has matched the pace of both McLarens. 

Despite this, the four-time world champion is not expecting it to become a common occurrence ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix. 

Verstappen recognises that Red Bull require further improvements but that victories can be claimed if everything is done correctly.

"I don't think so, but honestly, like I said, we take it," Verstappen said. "It was very hard to pass around here. 

"Bahrain – completely different track, very tough on tyres, tyres overheating as well. We still have work to do. But it does show that if we really nail everything, we can be up there. 

"But from our side, we want to be better than just sometimes being up there. So we just keep working hard and just see where we can be at in Bahrain already. 

"Hopefully we keep on improving the car, with the through corner balance, and then hopefully it unlocks also just in general a bit more pace."