Verstappen's predictable Suzuka win should have F1 worried

Key Facts

Verstappen's third win of the year came two weeks after a brake fire on his Red Bull car opened the door for Carlos Sainz's memorable victory at the Australian GP for Ferrari, which in turn had given fans a sliver of hope that this season might not be as one-sided as Verstappen's romp to the 2023 title, but a second straight race without a victory -- something that has not happened to Verstappen since July 2022 -- never seemed on the cards at Suzuka.
Sunday's win was so complete it prompted Mercedes boss Toto Wolff to throw in the towel on the 2024 championship on behalf of the entire grid with 20 races of F1's longest-ever season still to run.
Take Sainz's Melbourne win of two weeks ago and his victory in Singapore last September out of the equation and the last non-Verstappen victory was at this exact point 12 months ago, at the fourth race of the season; last year that was Baku's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which this season has swapped places with Japan's usual October spot on the calendar.
"I wouldn't say it like this because the guy who is ahead is the deserving winner, and I believe that we've seen the Ferraris more closer to him in some of the previous races, and I think we can be closer to the Ferraris than we've shown today," Wolff said.