The first leg of a Formula 1 triple-header took place last weekend with an uneventful Japanese Grand Prix, as one man stole the show.
But alas, the procession at Suzuka at least offered up a stunning display by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who took a surprise pole and victory.
With the outstanding candidate of the weekend clear for all to see, how did the rest of the field fare at F1’s historic Japanese venue?
F1 2025 Japanese GP – Qualifying Results
F1 2025 Japanese Grand Prix – Race Results
Max Verstappen – 10
Qualified: P1, Race Result: P1
Nobody saw this result coming. Red Bull’s form coming into Suzuka was a step behind its front-running rivals McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari, with Verstappen complaining of a lack of all-around pace and through corner balance.
However, against the much-fancied McLaren duo, Verstappen put in a barnstorming lap record attempt to snatch a fourth consecutive pole position at Suzuka with Veteran Spaniard Fernando Alonso claiming to Dutch TV that “Only [Verstappen] can do it.”
Arguably, the Red Bull is a top-five runner at best, but not in Verstappen’s hands, and qualifying proved pivotal for the low degradation of the Suzuka Circuit. The Dutchman kept the two McLarens at bay throughout the GP to take a fine victory and cap off a remarkable weekend.
Yuki Tsunoda – 6
Qualified: P15, Race Result: P12
There had been so much talk around Yuki Tsunoda’s long-awaited Red Bull debut in Japan after he was swapped with the underperforming Liam Lawson after just two races.
Tsunoda started his first weekend in an RB21 well, on Verstappen’s tail in opening practice, but as the weekend wore on, a gap grew between the new team-mates. Opting for a high-downforce set-up in qualifying, Tsunoda struggled to nail a lap together and although he escaped Q1 – which Lawson failed to do in his short tenure- he could only qualify 15th.
A Carlos Sainz grid penalty promoted Tsunoda up one spot, and he overtook Lawson on the opening lap, and undercutting Pierre Gasly rewarded the Japanese driver with a 12th-place finish.
It was not a sensational start to life at Red Bull, with Tsunoda claiming “everything” that could go against him did, but he at least made steady progress.
Lando Norris – 8
Qualified: P2, Race Result: P2
Lando Norris admitted that he just didn’t have enough to beat Verstappen to pole at Suzuka, albeit with such marginal gaps between the pair (0.012s). However, that moment was critical to McLaren’s attempt at extending its winning run. It was a case of follow the leader throughout the GP, and Norris could never get closer than a second to the rear of Verstappen’s Red Bull.
McLaren talked itself out of undercutting Norris, fearing a Safety Car would scupper his race entirely, and the closest he got to Verstappen was on the pit-lane exit. Pitting on the same lap, McLaren executed a stronger stop, and Norris tried, in vain, to squeeze by Verstappen on pit-lane exit, but instead did some heartstopping lawnmowing.
From there, he bounced back and forth between Verstappen’s dirty air and Oscar Piastri’s nose cone and that was all she wrote.
Oscar Piasrti – 8
Qualified: P3, Race Result: P3
Piastri was on provisional pole before the final runs in Q3, but he couldn’t hook things up on the final run and was resigned to heading up the second row. The Australian driver acknowledged that’s where his race was lost.
He remained in the three-car bubble with Verstappen and Norris, with an undercut doing little to advance his progress, but necessary to cover off the drivers behind. Late on, he felt he had the pace to challenge Verstappen and implied a swap with Norris would help show this, but that never materialised.
Still, like Norris, it was a solid weekend, just missing out on that perfect execution in qualifying that Verstappen managed so well.
Charles Leclerc – 8
Qualified: P4, Race Result: P4
Charles Leclerc did well in qualifying to get his Ferrari onto the second row of the grid, with it being clear that such a result is probably the best one can get out of the SF-25 over the course of a single push-lap. The Monegasque driver then had a very lonely race, finishing 14 seconds behind the podium trio.
Leclerc admitted that this is probably the best Ferrari can manage until upgrades arrive, but Norris acknowledged in the press conference that the Scuderia driver was on a par with the top three through the final stint of the race.
Leclerc is simply doing the best with the sub-optimal tool at his disposal.
Lewis Hamilton – 6.5
Qualified: P8, Race Result: P7
Hamilton concurs with Leclerc’s vision that Ferrari needs improvements and spoke on this matter post-race. After qualifying eighth, he claimed Leclerc “outperformed” the SF-25 whilst suggesting he didn’t “get everything that was needed from the car.”
Unlike the top six, however, Hamilton was able to improve on race day, surpassing Isack Hadjar for seventh, but arguably, he shouldn’t have qualified behind the Racing Bulls driver in the first instance.
There’s room for improvement from both car and driver, but it’s still early days in this newly formed partnership.
George Russell – 7
Qualified: P5, Race Result: P5
Second and third in FP1 and FP3, respectively, George Russell posed a serious threat to McLaren going into qualifying.
Russell was second again in Q1 and Q2, but he was unable to capitalise on this strong form in the final segment of qualifying. A cooling track and insufficient tyre warm-up led to a Turn 2 moment on his final run, and he was resigned to qualifying fifth.
As was the case for most drivers, Russell finished where he started and one error curtailed his podium chances. Still, it was another solid effort by the Briton.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli – 7
Qualified: P6, Race Result: P6
Andrea Kimi Antonellu continues to show maturity beyond his years. The Italian teenager struggled throughout practice, and a Q1 exit loomed before he pulled himself out of trouble to eventually qualify one place behind his team-mate.
He then became the youngest driver ever to lead a GP, thanks to a long opening stint and also took the accolade for the youngest driver to claim the fastest lap. After finishing 42 seconds down on Russell in China, Antonelli slashed that deficit to just 1.6s in Japan, showing just how much potential he still has left to realise.
Isack Hadjar – 9
Qualified: P7, Race result: P8
Hadjar continues to do the business for Racing Bulls and shows he has the raw speed and mental grit to succeed in F1. His form throughout practice was strong, but a lap belt issue that, let’s put it delicately, caused some major discomfort in a sensitive region, threatening to dump him out of qualifying.
Hadjar persevered and escaped Q1, got his belts sorted and then punched his way into Q3 to wind up with an impressive seventh-place starting berth on the grid. Hamilton, in the faster Ferrari, got the better of him on race day, but Hadjar picked up his first points in F1, and that was a just reward for a rookie making his mark in the sport.
Liam Lawson – 5
Qualified: P14, Race Result: P17
Lawson dealt with his demotion to Racing Bulls admirably, and acclimatising to a new car always meant he’d be on the back foot. Escaping Q1 and out-qualifying Tsunoda in the Red Bull showed the spirit is still there, and no doubt the New Zealander will close the margin to team-mate Hadjar soon.
In the race, promoted to 13th at the start, thanks to Sainz’s grid penalty, Lawson lost out to Tsunoda on Lap 1 and was one of the last to pit on Lap 34 of 53 with Racing Bulls giving up hope of a Safety Car intervention to land hom a free ride into a points finish.
Alex Albon – 9
Qualified: P9, Race Result: P9
Alex Albon continues to lead the Williams charge as his new team-mate Sainz figures things out. Team boss James Vowles argued ahead of the season that Albon would raise his game upon Sainz’s arrival, and that is exactly what has happened. The FW47 has the potential to be a midfield runner, and once again, Albon exploited that to qualify inside the top-10.
Despite airing his frustrations over team radio about gear shifts and strategy calls, Albon finished where he started, ensuring Williams has scored points in three rounds on the bounce for the first time since 2017 and eclipsed its tally from 2024 entirely.
Carlos Sainz – 6
Qualified: P12, Race Result: P14
Sainz has admitted it could take five to 10 races to get fully to grips with his Williams FW47, but he’s making steady progress. The Spaniard missed out on Q3 by less than a tenth of a second, but that, coupled with a three-place grid penalty for impeding Hamilton, was enough to render his Sunday outing fruitless.
But despite not scoring any points, Sainz showed encouraging pace on Sunday. Starting 15th thanks to his penalty, he pitted together with Lawson for Soft tyres on Lap 34, but got the better of the New Zealander, Nico Hulkenberg and later, Jack Doohan to finish 14th on the road. A good platform for him to build on and returning to Bahrain this weekend, where he fared well in testing, could see Sainz take the next step.
Oliver Bearman – 9
Qualified: P10, Race Result: P10
Haas fast-tracked a floor upgrade to Japan after the season-opener in Australia exposed an alarming weakness in high-speed corners. Team Principal Ayao Komatsu hailed Bearman’s feedback through Friday practice which proved pivotal to successfully bedding in the new floor, and it worked.
At a track he’d only visited during a Super Formula test late last year, Bearman made it into Q3 to the surprise of many. With overtaking limited, that helped him pick up a point for a 10th place finish and thoroughly outshine his more experienced team-mate.
An impressive weekend by the young Brit.
Esteban Ocon – 5
Qualified: P18, Race Result: P18
Esteban Ocon got the floor upgrade a day later than Bearman and couldn’t find the same performance jump from it. Some investigation will be needed to find out why the Frenchman failed to acclimate to the new product as well as his rookie team-mate, and 18th in qualifying, and the race isn’t something to write home about.
Fernando Alonso – 6.5
Qualified: P13, Race Result: P11
The Aston Martin struggled for outright performance at Suzuka, and Fernando Alonso found himself exiting Q2 in 13th place. Sainz’s penalty granted him one spot, and a gutsy move on Gasly at Spoon curve was enough to get the veteran Spaniard into 11th on Lap 1.
11th is where Alonso would remain with his weekend highlight arguably being heaping praise on Verstappen’s qualifying efforts. Otherwise, it was a quiet weekend for Alonso as he bides his time until 2026.
Lance Stroll – 4
Qualified: P20, Race Result: P20
The Aston Martin may not be a decent force in F1 right now, but qualifying last isn’t what is expected of Lance Stroll. The Canadian was caught out by a cross wind during Q1 and he veered off course in the esses to wind up at the bottom of the timesheet.
Starting on the Soft tyres didn’t work, and Stroll was in the pits by Lap 10 for Hards, and he stopped again midway through the race for Mediums. With the rest of the field one-stopping, it was only going to end one way, at the back of the field once again.
Pierre Gasly – 6
Qualified: P11, Race Result: P13
Alpine has struggled for form through the first three rounds of the season and Gasly did his best in qualifying, narrowly missing out on Q3 by the narrowest of margins. With overtaking at a premium at Suzuka, getting caught out at the exit of Spoon by Alonso proved costly as one position was lost and being undercut by Tsunoda meant Gasly was one of the few people to lose ground on race day.
Jack Doohan – 3
Qualified: P19, Race Result: P15
Leaving the DRS open into Turn 1 in your opening practice session because it worked on the simulator is a massive risk, but reportedly, that was the one Jack Doohan took in FP2 at Suzuka.
It didn’t come off and the Australian, who is under a lot of pressure to perform, sent his Alpine careening into the barriers in what was a huge crash. Thankfully, he was ok, but it set the tone for a difficult weekend, whereby he qualified in second-last.
Starting on the Softs did at least give Doohan the chance to undercut his rivals and he was able to get ahead of the two Saubers, Lawson and Stroll on race day, but the damage to his weekend was done at the start.
Nico Hulkenberg – 6
Qualified: P16, Race Result: P16
Not even Hulkenberg’s qualifying prowess could get the slowest car in the field out of Q1, but the German got close in 16th with Sauber. The German was undercut by Doohan, who started on the Softs behind, but recovered a position when Lawson pitted late on, whom he was able to keep at bay.
Gabriel Bortoleto – 6
Qualified: P17, Race result: P19
Gabriel Bortoleto did well to qualify within a tenth of his uber-experienced team-mate to start in 17th, but he lost ground at the start with the Hard tyres. Still the Brazilian, although losing two positions from his starting spot, finished just two seconds behind Hulkenberg by the time the race concluded. A solid effort in an underperforming car.
READ MORE – Max Verstappen keeps McLaren at bay to win F1 Japanese GP
