Verstappen: 'You wouldn't have seen me' if I was driving a McLaren

Max Verstappen joked he would have driven off into the distance had he been steering one of the McLaren cars following his victory in the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.

"I'm very happy with what I'm doing," Verstappen told international broadcast station Viaplay, according ESPN's Nate Saunders. "I don't even want to think about if I'd been in that other car (McLaren). Then you wouldn't have seen me."

The four-time reigning world champion shockingly grabbed pole Saturday by 0.012 seconds ahead of Lando Norris. He converted that pole to a victory Sunday despite being pressured by McLaren's Norris and Oscar Piastri, who were in a car that has been the class of the field in pace entering the Japanese Grand Prix weekend.

"I’m incredibly happy," Verstappen said post-race. "It started off quite tough this weekend, but we didn't give up."

Red Bull's difficult car and its second-driver issues have left it trailing McLaren 111 points to 61 with Verstappen accounting for all the Milton Keynes team's points. However, the Suzuka win, which was Verstappen's record-breaking fourth consecutive triumph at the circuit, leaves him only one point behind Norris in the drivers' championship.