Max Verstappen once again displayed his mastery of Suzuka, taking pole and leading the charge in the race, but McLaren’s strong Japanese GP weekend left them wondering what could have been as they finished second and third.
McLaren’s Strong Weekend Overshadowed by Verstappen
The 2025 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka showcased a thrilling battle between Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris, but it was the Red Bull driver who ultimately reigned supreme, claiming his first victory of the season.
Despite dominating practice sessions and securing a front-row lockout in qualifying, McLaren was unable to capitalise on their strong weekend as Verstappen’s strategic brilliance left them playing catch-up.
Verstappen’s unwavering pace ensured his fourth consecutive victory at the Japanese circuit – a historic achievement. Meanwhile, McLaren’s impressive performance left them to reflect on what could have been as Norris and Piastri came home second and third, respectively
McLaren Strart Strong as Suzuka Keeps Teams Guessing
In FP1, Lando Norris led the pack, followed by Mercedes’ George Russell, and the Ferrari’s of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Yuki Tsunoda made his Red Bull debut with a P6 finish in FP1, just behind his new teammate, Max Verstappen.
In FP2, Piastri topped the session as Jack Doohan crashed in a session that saw multiple red flags. Closing out the top three were Norris and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar.
In FP3, Norris again set the fastest time, edging out Piastri and George Russell. Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen rounded out the top five, showing strong pace ahead of Qualifying.
Verstappen Comes Out of Nowhere to Claim Pole
Max Verstappen clinched pole position for the Japanese GP with a record-setting lap of 1:26.983, narrowly edging out McLaren’s Lando Norris by just 0.012 seconds.
Oscar Piastri, also driving for McLaren, secured the third spot on the grid, making it an all-McLaren second row alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who qualified fourth.
Mercedes’ George Russell rounded out the top five, while Ferrari’s new recruit, Hamilton, slotted into a disappointing P8 just behind rookies Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar..
The session was marred by multiple disruptions, including several grass fires ignited by car sparks, leading to red flags and delays.
Notably, rookie Oliver Bearman impressed by qualifying tenth for Haas, marking the team’s best performance at Suzuka since 2019.
In contrast, Yuki Tsunoda faced a challenging home race weekend, exiting in Q2 and starting from fifteenth, just behind teammate Liam Lawson, who qualified fourteenth.
Despite earlier struggles with car balance, Verstappen’s exceptional final lap in Q3 secured his fourth consecutive pole at Suzuka, underscoring his prowess on the Japanese circuit.
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A Clean Start to the Japanese GP
The top 10 held firm at the start, with the opening laps being fairly tame. Further down the order is where overtakes were happening, as Fernando Alonso overtaking Pierre Gasly on Lap 1, but it wasn’t until Lap 3 that things began to heat up.
A DRS train began to form, with cars tightly bunched together, as drivers jostled for position.
Verstappen, who was already pulling away from Lando Norris, extended his lead to 1.7 seconds, aided by the use of clean air.
Hamilton’s decision to start on Hard tyres was beginning to pay off by Lap 6, where he overtook Hadjar down the main straight.
Verstappen started to pull ahead, running a comfortable 1.9-second lead over Norris, who was under pressure from his teammate Piastri.
Into the Pits…Cue the Drama
Pirelli’s predicted window for the Medium tyre runners was between Lap 19 and 25, and that’s where the first round of pit stops came into play for those on Mediums.
With Hamilton running a longer first stint, he had the chance to gain ground on Antonelli, who took the lead of the Japanese GP after the front runners went into the pits.
The undercut, however, didn’t seem to work as effectively as expected for many, with Verstappen and Norris both failing to capitalise on the early stops.
The first major drama of the race came on Lap 22, with Verstappen and Norris both diving into the pits. A slight delay for Verstappen’s stop saw Norris try to capitalise, but the two would exit side by side, with Norris pushing hard to stay on track.
Norris nearly lost it at the pit exit, going wide onto the grass, but he just about managed to keep it together, narrowly avoiding a costly mistake. The battle for the lead was far from over.
Lap 24 saw further changes in the midfield as pit stops cycled through, but the key moment came when Antonelli, still out in front after the stops, seemed to have a handle on things.
With those ahead finally pitting, Verstappen was back in the lead, with a 1.3-second gap over Norris.
Papaya Rules and the Return of the Dutchman
As the final stint began, Norris was told to push on, but with Verstappen setting the pace, there was little chance of the Brit gaining ground without Verstappen making a mistake.
Piastri, who had shown incredible pace throughout the race, was now closing in on Norris as well, applying constant pressure. The Australian’s team radio implied that a grid swap was imminent; however, that never came to be as Norris upped his pace.
Meanwhile, Hadjar was having a breakthrough race, driving towards his first career points finish.
As we neared the final laps, it was clear that Verstappen, barring any unexpected drama, was heading towards another victory. With Suzuka being a difficult track to overtake on, despite having the fastest car, neither McLaren driver could get past the Dutchman.
Verstappen crossed the line in P1 – his first win of the 2025 F1 season. McLaren, who should have probably walked out with a front-row lockout on Saturday and a 1-2 on Sunday, will be disappointed with a P2 and P3 finish for Norris and Piastri, respectively.
Ferrari didn’t make much of an impression, with Leclerc crossing the line fourth and Hamilton seventh. Mercedes‘ Russell and Antonelli were P5 and P6, while Hadjar, Alexander Albon and Ollie Bearman took up the final three positions of the top ten for the 2025 Japanese GP.
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Japanese GP Race Results
|
Pos |
No |
Driver |
Car |
Laps |
Time/retired |
Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
1 |
Max Verstappen |
Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT |
53 |
1:22:06.983 |
25 |
|
2 |
4 |
Lando Norris |
McLaren Mercedes |
53 |
+1.423s |
18 |
|
3 |
81 |
Oscar Piastri |
McLaren Mercedes |
53 |
+2.129s |
15 |
|
4 |
16 |
Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari |
53 |
+16.097s |
12 |
|
5 |
63 |
George Russell |
Mercedes |
53 |
+17.362s |
10 |
|
6 |
12 |
Kimi Antonelli |
Mercedes |
53 |
+18.671s |
8 |
|
7 |
44 |
Lewis Hamilton |
Ferrari |
53 |
+29.182s |
6 |
|
8 |
6 |
Isack Hadjar |
Racing Bulls Honda RBPT |
53 |
+37.134s |
4 |
|
9 |
23 |
Alexander Albon |
Williams Mercedes |
53 |
+40.367s |
2 |
|
10 |
87 |
Oliver Bearman |
Haas Ferrari |
53 |
+54.529s |
1 |
|
11 |
14 |
Fernando Alonso |
Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes |
53 |
+57.333s |
0 |
|
12 |
22 |
Yuki Tsunoda |
Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT |
53 |
+58.401s |
0 |
|
13 |
10 |
Pierre Gasly |
Alpine Renault |
53 |
+62.122s |
0 |
|
14 |
55 |
Carlos Sainz |
Williams Mercedes |
53 |
+74.129s |
0 |
|
15 |
7 |
Jack Doohan |
Alpine Renault |
53 |
+81.314s |
0 |
|
16 |
27 |
Nico Hulkenberg |
Kick Sauber Ferrari |
53 |
+81.957s |
0 |
|
17 |
30 |
Liam Lawson |
Racing Bulls Honda RBPT |
53 |
+82.734s |
0 |
|
18 |
31 |
Esteban Ocon |
Haas Ferrari |
53 |
+83.438s |
0 |
|
19 |
5 |
Gabriel Bortoleto |
Kick Sauber Ferrari |
53 |
+83.897s |
0 |
|
20 |
18 |
Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes |
52 |
+1 lap |
0 |
The Triple Header Continues
One round of the first tripleheader of the season is done and dusted, and now we head to Bahrain for the fourth round of the 2025 F1 season.
No more early mornings for those in Europe, Africa this time around :
11 Apr 2025, 14:30 – 15:30 Free Practice 1
11 Apr 2025, 18:00 – 19:00 Free Practice 2
12 Apr 2025, 15:30 – 16:30 Free practice 3
12 Apr 2025, 19:00 – 20:00 Qualifying
13 Apr 2025, 18:00 – 20:00 Race
Who will come out on top?
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Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / PsnewZ
Recording Date: 06.04.2025
