Verstappen was largely unchallenged throughout the Suzuka race en route to a commanding win but faced a battle against the fast-starting pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris into the first corner.
Front-row starter Piastri flanked Verstappen as the race began with third-placed Norris on the Dutchman's left, which Verstappen reckoned gave him limited space to work with to ward them both off.
Explaining his defensive efforts, Verstappen explained that both McLaren cars had made a "jump" off the line and that keeping the inside line from Piastri's clutches was his first port of call.
"Of course, the start was a bit tight in the first two corners, but after that, the car was very nice to drive again," Verstappen said.
"I saw in the right mirror that Oscar had a little bit of a jump on me, but then at the same time, I saw in my left mirror that Lando had a real jump on me.
"I tried to close off Oscar but he was still there, and then I saw on the left side Lando coming with a lot more speed. He then moved a bit to the right and I was like, 'I can't go more to the right!'. So I was trying to get it straightened and luckily, nothing happened.
"It all got quite close, but that's racing, that's how it goes at the start. We had a good battle also into Turn 1, into Turn 2. But I was lucky, I think, that there was a bit more grip in Turn 2, just on the normal line instead of trying to go around the outside."
Source: Autosport