2025 Japanese Grand Prix Race Review
- Linus O'Howell
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Verstappen Wins Dull Japanese GP
Max Verstappen was at his best again this weekend as he took a brilliant victory for Red Bull in Honda’s final Home Race with the team! A lack of difference in strategy and Suzuka being a hard track to overtake on meant McLaren had to settle for 2nd and 3rd, with Lando Norris just ahead of Oscar Piastri!
The Biggest Talking Points
Well, this shouldn’t take long! The start was super clean from everyone, with Max Verstappen getting off the line well to remain in the lead as everyone got through completely unscathed! It then became pretty clear early on that Suzuka was going to be even harder to overtake on than usual, not helped by the dirty air these 2025 cars produce! Because of this, there wasn’t really any overtaking (besides Carlos Sainz who brought a little bit of entertainment), and the most notable moment came in the pitlane as after Lando Norris boxed on the same lap as Max Verstappen (for some unknown reason), a slow stop by Red Bull allowed Lando to get alongside Max before he just drove onto the grass as they came back onto the circuit! This was clearly not a penalty, the FIA agreed, and I think the bigger thing here is the fact that McLaren didn’t split strategies, something they should be doing when they have a 2-on-1 situation against Verstappen! The last 20 laps were pretty close in terms of the gaps between the Top 3, with Oscar Piastri closing in on his teammate at times, but you simply couldn’t overtake meaning the Race was a bit of a procession! I like to try and be positive in all my articles, but I have to be honest and say that there really isn’t anything to talk about, everyone finished, about 4 overtakes were done, and Yuki Tsunoda got Driver of the Day (he finished 12th)!
The Standout Drives in the Race
I’ve given out two 10’s for the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix and the first one is obviously for Max Verstappen! This was a masterclass performance from Max, his car had no right to be winning this Race, but he didn’t put a single foot wrong and took a pretty special win for both him, Red Bull, and Honda! The other driver I’ve given out maximum points to is Isack Hadjar because that kid is doing amazing right now! Isack finished P8 today, that’s his maiden Formula 1 points, and I just was super impressed by him again! Both McLaren’s should also be mentioned for getting onto the Podium, Charles Leclerc did well to finish P4, Andrea Kimi Antonelli had a really good Race to only finish a second and a bit behind his teammate, and Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman also did well to bag more points for Williams and Haas respectively!
Drivers Who Had a Shocker
I’ve only given out one 1 for today’s Race, and that is unfortunately for Lance Stroll! I’m honestly not really sure what Lance was doing today, he pit after just 10 laps on the softs, then pit again later on in the Race, and he was the only driver to get lapped! I don’t think Stroll was as slow as what he appeared to be, but it was still a pretty terrible weekend for him! Elsewhere, I think Yuki Tsunoda needs to be mentioned, he didn’t do terribly, but he was still nearly a minute behind his teammate, which isn’t good enough! I also thought Liam Lawson had a very difficult day, this wasn’t the bounce-back weekend that he was hoping for, and Esteban Ocon also had a bit of a stinker!
Overall Race Results and My Ratings
Max Verstappen: 10
Lando Norris: 9
Oscar Piastri: 9
Charles Leclerc: 8
George Russell: 7
Andrea Kimi Antonelli: 8
Lewis Hamilton: 5
Isack Hadjar: 10
Alex Albon: 9
Oliver Bearman: 8
Fernando Alonso: 7
Yuki Tsunoda: 3
Pierre Gasly: 6
Carlos Sainz: 4
Jack Doohan: 4
Nico Hulkenberg: 4
Liam Lawson: 2
Esteban Ocon: 2
Gabriel Bortoleto: 3
Lance Stroll: 1
Credit: Total Motorsport
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