Max Verstappen won the Japanese Grand Prix, narrowly ahead of second Norris and third Piastri.
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| Photo: Philip Fong |
Verstappen pulled off an absolutely incredible lap in qualifying, which sent him to pole position, even though his RB21 car wasn’t supposed to be capable of it on paper. Max once again minimized the car’s shortcomings and showed that he is probably the only one who can handle a Red Bull car. In the race, he was able to resist both McLaren cars and won his first race of the season, currently just one point behind Norris in the championship. Yuki Tsunoda replaced Liam Lawson in the second Red Bull seat, and the question was whether he could cope with the RB21 car. Even before the race weekend, Yuki was highly motivated and even said that he wanted to finish on the podium at his home Grand Prix, but it was already clear after qualifying that this wouldn’t quite happen. In qualifying, he didn’t manage to make it into Q3, and in the race, he finished P12, which isn’t too bad when considering all the circumstances.
McLaren arrived in Japan as a contender for the win, but Max slipped through their fingers, and the orange team had to settle for second place for Norris and third for Piastri. At the start of the race, Lando was concerned about his front tires, which had been breaking up in practice, so he didn't push too hard on Max. He later tried to close the gap to Max but didn’t manage to get close enough. Lando's closest challenge came a few laps before the end, when he had to keep an eye on his rearview mirrors as Piastri stayed right behind his rear diffuser. Neither Lando and Piastri couldn't pass Max, and at the finish, it meant second and third place for the papaya team.
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| Photo: Zak Mauger |
Mercedes only managed fifth and sixth place in Suzuka, but their ambitions were higher. The potential and speed were definitely there, as even George Russell admitted. In qualifying, he tried a different approach to warm up his tires for his timed lap, but it didn’t work, and he ended up in fifth place. He later mentioned that without that mistake, they could have been aiming for a higher position. In the race, he was stuck in fifth and couldn’t move forward. He briefly pressured Leclerc but passing isn’t easy at Suzuka, and today was a clear example of that. He finished in fifth. His teammate, Kimi Antonelli, qualified in sixth place, the same position he finished in the race. He also set the fastest lap of the race and became the youngest F1 driver to lead a race.
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| Photo: Sam Bloxham |
Ferrari struggled again and was practically invisible throughout the weekend. In qualifying, Leclerc finished in fourth place, and Lewis in eighth. In the race, Leclerc finished P4, and Lewis finished P7.
We must highlight Hadjar's performance, who struggled with his belts in qualifying but still managed to make it into Q3. In the race, he scored his first F1 points with an eighth-place finish. Albon finished ninth with Williams, and rookie Ollie Bearman took tenth place.
Race Results:
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | |||
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1.423 | ||
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 2.129 | ||
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 16.097 | ||
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | 17.362 | ||
| 6 | Andrea K. Antonelli | Mercedes | 18.671 | ||
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 29.182 | ||
| 8 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 37.134 | ||
| 9 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 40.367 | ||
| 10 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 54.529 | ||
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 57.333 | ||
| 12 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | 58.401 | ||
| 13 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:02.122 | ||
| 14 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:14.129 | ||
| 15 | Jack Doohan | Alpine | 1:21.314 | ||
| 16 | Nico Hülkenberg | Kick Sauber | 1:21.957 | ||
| 17 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:22.734 | ||
| 18 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 1:23.438 | ||
| 19 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber | 1:23.897 | ||
| 20 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1 lap |