Max Verstappen had a message for Red Bull's critics in Japan, where he produced one of his finest race weekends in Formula One to return to winning ways.

"When one driver dominates a season in the way Max Verstappen has dominated 2023, it’s easy to gloss over exceptional performances.

The feat of winning race after race becomes difficult to contextualise, especially when his nearest rival is nowhere to be seen at the chequered flag.

It all starts to look a bit too easy, which is the one thing it’s not."