Max Verstappen Grabs The Bull By The Horns With Commanding Win In Suzuka

McLaren missed out on a golden opportunity to put daylight between themselves and the rest of the grid, as defending champion Max Verstappen sliced through the noise and sent a reminder of why he might still be the man to beat.

Lando Norris 62 points still holds a one-point advantage over second-placed Verstappen after the Dutch driver fought his way past the McLaren challenge from Norris and Oscar Piastri 49 to win his first race of the season and remain firmly in the hunt for his fifth consecutive title.

The Surrey-based team, however, still remain the fastest on pure pace, and they leave Suzuka with a sizeable lead 111 over Mercedes 75 in defence of their Constructors Championship. The top six drivers held firm, with all maintaining their positions from lights out to the chequered flag.

As the battle for the crown picks up speed, we unpack the three biggest takeaways from the Japanese Grand Prix.

In a race that lacked any real wheel-to-wheel action, the undercut not as effective, and overtaking opportunities few and far between, McLaren were guilty of going through the motions and failed to take the fight to pole-sitter Verstappen, despite having two cars in the Top 3.