Steiner running out of words to describe 'difference-maker' Verstappen: "What else can you say?"

12:42, 10 Apr

Updated: 12:44, 10 Apr

byOlly Darcy

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner shared his amazement at Max Verstappen's performance at the Japanese Grand Prix, exclaiming that he had 'nothing else to say' about his brilliance.

The Dutchman shocked everyone at Suzuka by finding one of his best laps of all time to get himself ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to put a troublesome RB21 onto pole position.

He then held onto that spot off the start, driving an extremely smart race to make sure neither of the papaya-coloured cars had the chance to overtake around the iconic circuit and take a fine win, with overtaking being an issue for many drivers throughout the race.

Verstappen became the third different winner of 2025 in Japan

Steiner on a "special" Verstappen performance in Japan

Speaking on the Red Flags Podcast on Spotify, Steiner could not believe that there was yet another moment of magic from Verstappen.

"What else can you say about Max? He won the race on Saturday by putting that lap in. Saturday was race day in Japan, a little bit like Monte Carlo. To do that lap in Japan, it's Max. Nobody else can do it," the Italian said.

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The former Haas team boss was then asked to compare Verstappen to the great Ayrton Senna, but he could not differentiate between the two talents.

"I think you cannot compare Senna's times with the times you have now. But Max's was something special. To go out there and beat the McLarens, who are the best car at the moment, you don't even need to discuss that one.

"Verstappen went out there, and Japan is one of those tracks where the driver can make a difference, and it's a very little difference you have to make at the moment if you are a couple of tenths faster. Max was only a few hundredths quicker in Japan, and he took P1 to go on and win the race," concluded Steiner.