Star Metro - Verstappen closes in on title after Japanese Grand Prix romp

The flying Dutchman finished ahead of McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in Suzuka to extend his runaway lead in the overall standings to 177 points over nearest challenger and teammate Sergio Perez.

Verstappen can win the championship at the Qatar Grand Prix next month and he may not even have to wait until the Sunday race if he seals the deal in the Saturday sprint.

Verstappen's champagne is still on ice but he celebrated Red Bull's second straight constructors' championship in Japan, even though Perez retired from the race.

Verstappen has won 13 of 16 races so far this season and he said his car "is just better this year".

"The people are pretty much in the same spot and we know that they're good," he said.

"It's about working with an even better car this year. A bit more predictable this year as well."

Verstappen was back to his breathtaking best after a disappointing fifth-place finish at last week's Singapore Grand Prix.

He held off a double challenge from McLaren to take the lead ahead of Norris at the first turn.

First the Dutchman veered right to squeeze out Piastri, who was starting from second on the grid, then moved left to stop Norris from darting through the gap.

"I saw in the right mirror that Oscar had a little bit of a jump on me but at the same time I saw in my left mirror that Lando had a real jump on me," said Verstappen.

"Luckily nothing happened, it all got quite close -- that's racing, that's how it goes at the start."

Verstappen said it was "quite a straightforward race" from then on, with the Dutchman finishing an impressive 19.387sec ahead of Norris.

"No real issues throughout the race, and I think that just sums up the weekend," said Verstappen, who finished fastest in qualifying and all three practices in Japan.

"It's just been an incredible weekend to drive the car."

- McLaren 'getting there' -

Norris and Piastri finished on the podium ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who was fourth ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz.

Norris also finished second behind Sainz in Singapore, and he said McLaren were "getting there".

"We're there on pure pace -- nothing had to go away, we're just we deserve to be," said the British driver.

"An incredible day for everyone but also for myself -- things went maybe not always to plan, but the pace was extremely strong."

Australian rookie Piastri took his first podium finish after coming fourth at the British Grand Prix.

Piastri, who signed a new deal with McLaren earlier this week, said he expects to build on the achievement.

"There's definitely a few things that if I had this race again I would have done a bit different, but that's all part of the learning," said the 22-year-old.

"It's exciting to know that we can finish on the podium, even if I feel like there's more to come."

Perez got into trouble when he picked up two penalties early in the race.

The Mexican retired a few laps later, telling his team "the car doesn't feel right".

He later came back out, ensuring that he would not have to serve his penalty at the next race.

"It was just a disastrous weekend," said Perez.

"It all started into turn one with a really bad start. I was squeezed and just a passenger there, in a sandwich."

Perez's woes did not cost Red Bull the constructors' championship, with nearest challengers Mercedes unable to stay in contention.

"We did manage to get ahead of Sainz which was great teamwork and good work from the guys in the pit stop and the strategy group," said Hamilton.

"That was the maximum we could have achieved today."

D.Fraser--SMC