Max Verstappen equals Michael Schumacher record with F1 Japanese Grand Prix victory

Max Verstappen has become the second F1 driver in history to win the Japanese Grand Prix on three consecutive occasions.

The Dutchman repeated Michael Schumacher's feat of three wins in a row from 2000-02.

Verstappen won at a canter for Red Bull ahead of teammate Sergio Perez and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz.

After surviving the start and a red flag intervention on the first lap, the three-time world champion drove flawlessly, capitalizing on Perez running wide at Degner 2 early in the race.

The 26-year-old remained unflappable as the chasing pack battled in the leader's wake.

Verstappen hit the ground running in Japan, taking pole position.

He leads the world championship by 13 points after four rounds and has taken every pole position available, underlining his blistering raw speed.

“It was very nice. I think the critical bit was of course the start, to stay ahead, and after that the car got better and better for me throughout the race, Verstappen said, via formula1.com.

“I don’t know if it had to do with the clouds coming in, but yeah, [it was] very nice. Everything just went really well, the pit stops went well, the strategy I think worked out well, so it couldn’t have been any better.”

The championship leader is affirming himself as one of the greats. The youngest world champion ever he has 57 wins, third on the all-time list behind Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.

Clinching the title this season would make him just the sixth driver to have won the world championship four times and the fifth to win four in a row.

Formula 1 returns to China and the Shanghai International Circuit next time out. This will be the sport's first visit since 2019 and the 1000th Grand Prix.

Verstappen has yet to win at the venue, but he scored a third-place finish in 2017 in a storming drive from 16th on the grid.

The weekend will feature the Sprint format, which means one practice session instead of three and a shorter-than-usual 100km race on Saturday. Points will be awarded to the top eight finishers.

This format will be used at six events this season: China, Miami, Austria, Austin, São Paulo and Lusail in Qatar.