Pundit impressed with Verstappen: 'A bash for the whole paddock'

That Max Verstappen drove another dominant race in Japan was obvious to many people. Less obvious was possibly that the Dutchman drove the fastest lap on old hard tyres. Accordingly, Jack Plooij stated during the Ziggo Sport Race Café that that fastest lap was a bash for the entire paddock.

In Japan, Verstappen recovered after his failure in Australia. The three-time world champion eventually took the full prize as he set the fastest lap late in the race on his old hard tyres. With this, he scored 26 points at Suzuka.

Plooij therefore thinks the other teams were shocked by Verstappen's lap: "That he does that on the second-to-last lap on old hard tyres, that's a blow to the whole paddock. That's really not nice. Everyone was standing there like 'What the f***. That guy, on old hard tyres at the end of the race. That's not possible at all'."

Robert Doornbos then explained why the winner of the Japanese Grand Prix also wanted to drive the fastest lap: "He doesn't want to miss a point. He always wants to show 'I am here and I will take that last point even if it is not necessary'. Indeed, he once put pressure on his team with a final pit stop, like 'Guys, stay awake, we're going for the fastest lap'."