Japanese F1 Grand Prix 2023 Results: Max Verstappen Nears Title After 13th Season Win

After a one-week hiatus, Max Verstappen is back in his familiar spot atop the podium.

Verstappen turned in a dominant performance in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix, earning a victory by more than 19 seconds over second-place Lando Norris. Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top five.

Verstappen has now won 11 of the last 12 Formula 1 races and is three wins away from breaking his own single-season victories record, which he set just one year ago. His 400 points are already the fourth-most in a single season, and he has six races to eclipse the 454-point mark from 2022.

"There were no real issues throughout the race. I think that sums up the weekend as well," Verstappen said, per Luke Smith of The Athletic. "It's just been an incredible weekend to drive the car."

The triumph for Verstappen clinched Red Bull its sixth constructors' championship. Clinching the constructors' championship with six races remaining sets an all-time F1 record.

Verstappen will almost certainly clinch his third straight individual title in two weeks at the Qatar Grand Prix. All he will need is a 146-point lead over Sergio Perez coming out of the weekend to walk away with the championship. It would take a complete collapse from Verstappen and his team for the points race to even stretch into the United States Grand Prix next month.

As it stands, we're in the midst of the most dominant stretch in F1 history with no end in sight. The last two seasons have seen Verstappen and Red Bull blow the competition out of the water, with no other racer even coming close to being a consistent challenger.

Sunday's race in Japan was a microcosm of the F1 season. While it might not be particularly thrilling for fans of other drivers, it's impossible to not marvel at the dominance.