Max Verstappen focused on Japan GP despite allegations over cost-cap

‘It’s not my business’: World champion Max Verstappen focused on Japanese Grand Prix… as he responds tetchily to questions over allegations of Red Bull breaching the cost-cap

• Champion Max Verstappen has no interest in questions over Red Bull’s accounts 
• The Formula One team is facing allegations that they breached the cost-cap
• Dutch star Verstappen can win the World Championship at the Japan Grand Prix

The roll call is a who’s who of Formula One greats: Nelson Piquet, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen and Sebastian Vettel. All champions at Suzuka.

Max Verstappen knows he can ink his name on that page with victory and the fastest lap tomorrow. Not that he wants to acknowledge it. Verstappen has looked dour since swapping Singapore for Japan.

Constant questions — all legitimate — on Red Bull’s accounts amid allegations of a cost-cap breach have irked him. ‘It’s not my business,’ came the curt reply when he was quizzed on them this week.

Max Verstappen can be crowned World Champion if he leaves Japan with a lead of 112 points

For a man on the brink of mirroring Sebastian Vettel’s 2011 triumph, when the German clinched his second world title for Red Bull at Suzuka, Verstappen is desperate to talk about anything other than the inevitability of title No 2.

But the beauty of clinching it at Suzuka has not been lost on Verstappen. Back in 2014, a smiley, happy-go-lucky 17-year-old Verstappen first got to grips with an F1 car here.

His first practice session that day for Toro Rosso, which saw him become the youngest driver to participate in an F1 Grand Prix weekend, may not live long in the memory of most — he ranked 12th — but the Dutchman lights up when asked to go back to where it all began.

‘I remember I was on fire at the end of the session, that was good!’ he beams, an unfamiliar sight lately.

‘I remember the first time I drove out, I could not believe how much power I had. That was a shock to the system. 

‘If I compare myself as a driver now to then, it’s a very big difference.’

He’s ruthless now — with his rivals and his own team, all in search of greatness. It is why this second title, that will perhaps be sealed at this famous circuit, will surely not be the last.

Meanwhile, Verstappen’s old running mate at Red Bull, Pierre Gasly, is expected to confirm his switch from AlphaTauri to Alpine on Saturday.

Pierre Gasly (above) is expected to confirm his switch to team Alpine from AlphaTauri today

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