2025 Japanese Grand Prix: Max Verstappen Triumphs

Picture: Manami Yamada/ Reuters

The legendary Suzuka Circuit played host to an absolutely electrifying weekend of Formula 1 action at the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix! This iconic track, with its super-fast corners and passionate fans, always delivers excitement, and this year was no different. Even though the Red Bull car seems to be difficult to drive, Max Verstappen pulled off an unbelievable qualifying lap to snatch pole position, setting the stage for a fantastic victory. Even though some might have found the Japanese GP a little less exciting, there were still some interesting moments and things that happened during the race.

Statistics

Suzuka has an interesting history in Formula 1, and it’s seen some truly legendary moments. When we look back at who’s done really well here, one name that keeps popping up recently is Max Verstappen.

Before the 2025 race, Max Verstappen had actually won the Japanese Grand Prix for the past three years in a row. That’s an incredible achievement and shows just how much he loves this track and how good he is at driving here. This established dominance, combined with the team’s Honda partnership and the commemorative 2025 livery, further cemented his hero status among the passionate Japanese fans.

Historically, teams like Mercedes have also enjoyed a lot of success at the Japanese Grand Prix. And when you think about the drivers who’ve won the most at Suzuka overall, names like Michael Schumacher stand out. But Verstappen’s recent dominance here is a really big deal and something special to note.

While looking at the past can give us some clues about who might do well, every race weekend is a fresh start with its own surprises, just like we saw at this year’s Japanese GP.

Qualifying

After a dramatic practice session, including Doohan’s significant crash and many red flags,  anticipation for qualifying was high. The teams were under pressure to deliver, and the drivers knew every tenth of a second would count.

Saturday’s qualifying session for the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix was super tight, with everyone pushing their cars to the very limit to get the best starting spot for the race. Suzuka is a track where you need to be precise, and even a tiny mistake can cost you a lot of time. The weather was perfect – sunny and dry – which meant the drivers could really go for it.

What was truly surprising was Max Verstappen’s pole position lap. Throughout practice, it looked like the McLaren cars of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had a slight edge in pace. Verstappen himself even mentioned that his tires weren’t feeling great and the car balance wasn’t perfect. But when it mattered most in Q3, he pulled out an absolutely stunning lap – a new unofficial track record! – to put his Red Bull on pole position. It was a real testament to his incredible driving skill to extract that much speed from a car that didn’t seem to be the fastest that weekend. He beat Norris by 0.012 seconds!

The big surprise in Q2 was seeing the hometown hero, Yuki Tsunoda, in his first qualifying session as a Red Bull driver, get knocked out in P15. This put him behind Liam Lawson, the driver he recently replaced at Racing Bulls, who qualified in P14. This result definitely added an extra layer of interest to their performances in the race.

Race

The race day at the 2025 Japanese GP was absolutely fantastic. The atmosphere was buzzing with all the fans cheering, and the action on track didn’t disappoint.

When the lights went out, Verstappen made a great start and held onto his lead, which was crucial after his incredible qualifying effort. The McLarens of Norris and Piastri were right behind him, keeping the pressure on. It was clear that McLaren had a very strong car this weekend, but Verstappen’s exceptional driving allowed him to stay ahead. It really highlighted his ability to maximize every bit of performance from his Red Bull, even when it might not have been the outright fastest. He drove a brilliant, error-free race to keep the McLarens at bay and continue his amazing winning streak at the Japanese GP from start to finish.

It was great to see that Mercedes’ promising rookie, Kimi Antonelli, managed to get the official track record, showing great performance in his rookie year and breaking records already. On the other side, it was another tough weekend for Alpine, with both their cars, driven by Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan, finishing outside the points in thirteenth and fifteenth respectively, leaving them still searching for their first points of the season.  

Now, focusing on the recent driver swap between the Red Bull organizations. Tsunoda’s and Lawson’s race was particularly interesting. Starting from P15 in his first race weekend with Red Bull, Yuki unfortunately struggled to make significant progress, finishing in twelfth place, just outside the points in front of his home crowd. Liam Lawson, starting ahead in P14, also had a difficult race and finished further down the order in seventeenth. Isack Hadjar, in the other Racing Bulls car, had a much stronger race, finishing in a good eighth place and bringing home some important points for the team. This initial comparison will surely be a talking point as the season progresses. 

So, despite the feeling that McLaren might have had the edge in car performance this weekend, Max Verstappen delivered an absolutely masterful drive, starting with that incredible qualifying lap where he put a car on pole that arguably shouldn’t have been there. He then drove a brilliant race to take a hard-fought victory at the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix. He expertly held off the McLarens to secure his first win of the season and his fourth consecutive win at this amazing circuit!  

Team standings

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