Our prediction for the Japanese Grand Prix was that it would suit McLaren because it’s all about the high-speed stuff. Well, it did, but not where it truly mattered.

Red Bull turned something around, and left it to Verstappen to do his thing. Welcome to the Max Show!

Here are five points that caught our interest.

1. Magical Max. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) is the best there is. Sure, he’s the driver that has dominated for the last four years. But this weekend was different.

He clearly struggled with the car during the free practice sessions, pointing out that the front- and rear-ends weren’t in sync, with basically no grip at the front. And we know Max likes a pointy front-end.

Up until Q2, Max was still some three-tenths of a second off. It’s hard to pinpoint what the team did—a wing adjustment or balance distribution, perhaps? But Max nailed that one lap in the final moments of Q3, beating Lando Norris (McLaren) to pole by just 0.012 of a second. The lap was so good that Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) praised the Dutchman, saying he’s the best and is the reference.

More importantly, the race was won on Saturday, with overtaking proving to be so difficult on Sunday.

Given the strengths of the McLaren, Verstappen’s pole and win were unexpected. But the surprise result is what we yearn for in the sport.

2. Red Bull’s commemorative white livery to honor Honda was lit. Red Bull Racing ran with a white-and-red livery (complete with a retro Honda font) not just to celebrate 60 years since Honda’s first F1 victory, but to celebrate Red Bull’s last run with Honda power on home soil (Suzuka is a Honda track).

And it was perfect timing: a Japanese driver (Yuki Tsunoda’s debut with RBR) with Japanese power on Japanese soil.

Admittedly, we thought Max was good for a podium behind the McLarens. His win elevates the desirability of the RB21 Japan-spec livery.

3. McLaren failed to maximize the weekend and an unspoken growing problem among teammates. The McLaren MCL39 remains the class of the field, with tire management being one of its key strengths. That advantage was canceled out, however, with Suzuka being resurfaced, resulting in low tire degradation as well as the lack of overtaking.

Both Norris and Oscar Piastri (McLaren) were right behind Verstappen, with Piastri being the faster of the two at one point.

Rather than freeing the Australian to reel in Max, however, McLaren opted to hold position and to be fair to both its drivers. The rivalry between both of them is obvious, even with the little things to keep or gain an advantage. At the final chicane on the last lap, Norris appeared to have outbraked himself, with Piastri saying “cheeky” over the radio as that didn’t allow him to overtake.

The show is good for us, and expect it to heat up every round. Bring on Bahrain.

4. Amazing Antonelli. Kimi Antonelli had a strong weekend for the third race running.

While he says he was lost in the practice sessions, he looked to reserve driver Valtteri Bottas for some tips on where and what to improve.

The result was his strongest qualifying result yet—sixth alongside teammate George Russell on the third row. At 18 years and 224 days, Antonelli is the youngest driver ever to lead a Grand Prix and secure the fastest lap. He finished the race in sixth, just behind Russell.

5. Racing Bulls are strongest in the midfield. Had it not been for circumstances and strategies that didn’t work in Australia and China, Racing Bulls should’ve scored points in these two rounds (Grand Prix format in Shanghai).

In Suzuka, the team continued on with its strong form, demonstrating that it is the strongest in the midfield. Moreover, it is widely believed that if you perform well here, it bodes well for other tracks.

Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) put his VCARB 02 to good use, qualifying seventh and finishing eighth—his first points in his F1 career.

Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), meanwhile, was back with Racing Bulls, later sharing that the RB car had a wider operating window.

He at least out-qualified Tsunoda, which was the first goal. The gambled race strategy, however, didn’t quite work out—running long on the medium tires and then a short stint on softs, finishing 17th.

The plus was that he showed good pace and a good baseline to work with for the next rounds.

The next race is the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend. It’s hot and it’s another type of racetrack. Let’s just say role reversal for our predictions—with Max hounding the two McLaren drivers.