Verstappen eyes Red Bull upgrade: Honda will want to impress in Japan

Jos Verstappen has predicted that Honda will have something up their sleeve to boost Red Bull's hopes at the Japanese Grand Prix, but also credited the Japanese marque's latest upgrade.

Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon both scored points after taking Honda's latest upgrade, and dropping to the back of the grid as a result, in Italy and Belgium respectively.

Two-time 2019 race-winner Verstappen recovered from lap-one contact to finish eighth at Monza, and his father predicts big results could come in the next races.

"The lap times were just as fast as the people in first and second place," Jos told Ziggo. "He didn't give up and this also showed that the car is going in the right direction. So it looks good for the rest of the races this season.

"The next race in Singapore looks very positive for us again.

"These circuits [Spa and Monza] were just built for the Ferrari. We have always driven against Charles Leclerc and I think we have a great fight next year between Leclerc in the Ferrari, Hamilton in the Mercedes and Verstappen in the Red Bull.

"Max was unable to reach the top speed he had to achieve during the race. But that was solved for the next race."

Mercedes have won every Japanese Grand Prix in the V6 Hybrid era, but Verstappen has been on the podium in all three of his trips to Suzuka as a Red Bull driver and Jos expects Honda to push the boat out in search of victory.

"I think they really want to show something in Japan," he said. "We can get a lot out of it. I think there will be another engine change this season. There are still races to come where we can really perform."

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