Max Verstappen took the chance to take a swipe at his McLaren rivals after his victory at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Verstappen finished ahead of McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on Sunday, to take his first race victory of the season.

The Dutchman qualified in pole on Saturday, ending a run of 15 straight Grands Prix without a pole position.

Verstappen has previously suggested this year's Red Bull is not among the top cars in Formula One, and he joked that if he had been driving a McLaren, he would have been uncatchable.

"I'm very happy with what I'm doing," he told Dutch TV station ViaPlay.

"I don't even want to think about if I'd been in that other car [McLaren]. Then you wouldn't have seen me!

"When I came here, I didn't expect to win here – and after Friday, not at all.

"Starting on pole was the most important thing this weekend. McLaren was faster I think, but they couldn't get into the DRS to make a move."

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Verstappen is within a point of Norris at the top of the driver standings, and when asked by ESPN if he felt his levels were special in what many see as a poorer vehicle than in years gone by, he said: "Yeah, it [feels special]. It means that I really care, even though, of course, it's not been the easiest start to the year for us.

"You know, we are not where we want to be in terms of performance. I think that's no secret. But, yeah, this weekend, yeah, it's been really, just really, really nice.

"I don't listen to the positives and the negatives. I'm just in the middle, you know, so I just focus on my own performances. Just keep working, keep grinding."

Red Bull's difficult start to the season had seen them replace Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda, who finished 12th in his home race on Sunday.