Verstappen: Final home win for Honda 'a perfect send-off'

Max Verstappen shared an emotional message after winning the Japanese Grand Prix in a special one-off Honda-inspired Red Bull livery.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit paid homage to their long-standing engine partner for Honda's final home race with Red Bull.

Painted primarily in white with red detailing to closely resembling the look of Honda's first Grand Prix-winning car driven back in 1965 with Richie Ginther, the livery also matches the colours of Japan's well-known red-and-white nation flag.

Verstappen managed to repeat history in a sense by winning the 53-lap event around the Suzuka International Racing Course on Sunday, in what was a dominant display.

Means A Lot To Me

The four-time World Champion surprised many by claiming pole position on Saturday, besting Lando Norris' time by just 0.012 seconds with an impressive final sector.

Verstappen held the lead into the first corner and never looked back from that point onwards. Although both McLarens of Norris and Oscar Piastri kept close company, Verstappen was never put under pressure and saw the chequered flag first, his first win of the 2025 campaign.

The Dutchman admitted that the race's significance to Honda, who built the Suzuka Circuit back in 1962, was playing in the back of his mind throughout the Grand Prix.

He said: "It means a lot to me. It was in the back of my mind as well, you know, in those last few laps, I was like, well, I need to try and stay ahead.

"It would be a great story, our final kind of farewell race together with Honda here in Japan, and I'm incredibly proud of what we have achieved over all those years together.

"I think this is like a perfect send-off dream result," added Verstappen.

• Read Also: Red Bull and Honda bid farewell with stunning Japanese GP livery

While it looked plain sailing for Verstappen out front, he claimed that he was pushing hard to keep the chasing McLarens behind him: "It was tough, you know, just pushing very hard, especially on the last set.

"The two McLarens were pushing me very hard, and it was a lot of fun out there, not easy, of course, to manage the tyres, but I'm incredibly happy.

"It started off quite tough this weekend, but we didn't give up. We kept improving the car, and today, it was in its best form. And of course, you know, starting on pole, that really made it possible to win this race," concluded the Red Bull driver.

Verstappen is now just a single point behind Norris in the Drivers' Championship, with the pair on 61 points and 62 points respectively.

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