‘We have to be realistic’ – Verstappen insists Red Bull are ‘nowhere near’ competing at the front in Japan

Max Verstappen has admitted that it is unlikely he will win a fifth consecutive Japanese Grand Prix due to Red Bull’s lack of performance, explaining that the deficit to their rivals is currently too great.

The Dutchman suffered a challenging round last time out in China as he missed out on a point in the Sprint by just four-tenths before retiring from the Grand Prix while running in P6, sacrificing what could have been a much-needed eight points.

Red Bull’s drop in form has seen them fall behind not only their usual rivals in Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren, but also midfield competitors Haas, leaving Verstappen keen to maximise their performance at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

After winning the last four events at the Suzuka Circuit, including a superb victory that saw him eclipse the dominant McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri last season, he said: “I don't really think about the previous years because every year is different.

“We have to be realistic that we are nowhere near that kind of level at the moment, so I just go into the weekend and see where we will be.”

Prompted on how the Milton Keynes outfit will make the most of April – with the rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia not taking place that month – Verstappen explained: “I hope that we can use that break to understand our car a little bit better. Learn from the previous races and just try to be closer to the front.

“I think that's the target for us. China was not a nice weekend for us, so I hope for a while that's our worst weekend. In that sense, the break will be good.”

Although Red Bull promoted Isack Hadjar to partner Verstappen this season, they currently find themselves level with his former team Racing Bulls – both squads are on 12 points, but the sister team holds the advantage of scoring in every race so far.

Hadjar got off to a flying start by qualifying third for the Australian Grand Prix before a reliability problem caused a DNF in the race. At the following round in China, he failed to recover to the top eight in the Sprint following a collision with Kimi Antonelli, but was able to claim a valuable four points in the Grand Prix.

The flashes of potential have undoubtedly helped him to settle into his new seat, as he reflected ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix: “I've done two races so let's see how it keeps going. It's definitely a hard challenge but at the same time I really feel at home so far.

“It's been going well, Max is always very fast, very impressive, delivers every lap but I'm trying to stay there.

“We're not the lightest car for sure. I wouldn't say it's very hard to drive, it's just slow. It's been definitely more inconsistent in Shanghai than it was in Melbourne. Melbourne I had a better feeling but it's not like it's an unpredictable car, un-driveable. We spend too much time in the corners. It's just not fast enough. That's it.”