JAPANESE GRAND PRIX 2025
The Reigning World Champion, the Dutchman, MAX VERSTAPPEN is back to winning ways!
He is back to winning ways with the Red Bull team. This was his first pole since Austria 2024. Even though he did not have the fastest car on track, he led from start to end keeping both the papaya cars behind. Towards the closing stages of the race, both McLaren cars had caught up to the back of Max Verstappen and were hovering under the 2 seconds range but could never enter the DRS range of Max and overtake him. A fantabulous drive by the reigning world champion which came at the most unexpected time.
He showed everyone why he is considered as one of the greats!
Is Suzuka the new Monaco?
The main talking point of the race was the lack of overtaking opportunities. This was evident when all the top 6 drivers finished in the positions in which they started. The twisty and curvy nature of Suzuka with high speed corners made it impossible for the cars to follow and overtake. The one DRS zone was also not able to suffice for the ground lost to the car in front in the corners. Many drivers like Carlos Sainz were also quite vocal about this.
Overall it was a decent race for McLaren... not exactly what they wanted yet a huge points haul for them creating an even bigger gap of 36 points to Mercedes who are second in the constructors. Even though it was quite evident that they had the fastest car out of all... they still had to play second fiddle to Max Verstappen who they could not overtake even after multiple attempts. Lando even went as far as going side by side with Max in the pit lane, only to find himself in the grass a few seconds later due to Max leaving him no room. At the end they finished in only P2 and P3.
Yuki Tsunoda was the other big talking point coming into this race after freshly being promoted to Red Bull from the sister team, VCaRB after Liam Lawson was decided to be removed from that seat after just 2 races. Tsunoda during the practices looked promising being near or about the pace of Max by a few tenths here and there. But as qualifying came... he got knocked out in Q2, qualifying P14... a place behind Lawson, whom he had just replaced. During the race Tsunoda managed to get ahead of Lawson but that was not near enough to get him close to the points as he finished in P12 with him not being able to overtake Gasly and some other drivers for quite some time. In all it did not help the Red Bull team at all as one driver alone, the reigning World Champion, Max Verstappen is the sole scorer of all the 61 points Red Bull have racked up this year. Red Bull are seeming more of a one driver team right now due to the second Red Bull seat not being able to perform, first with Perez, then Lawson and if it continuous Tsunoda might be the next victim.
Ferrari just seem to not be delivering as expected. Even though Charles Leclerc finished in P4, he was miles behind the leading trio. The Ferrari is as fast as the Mercedes but it just is quite behind in terms of overall pace compared to McLaren and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. Hamilton completed the race in P7, behind both the Mercedes. Overall decent result for Ferrari but yet not the leading pace Hamilton and Ferrari hoped to have this year.
The Mercedes duo of Russell and Antonelli were faultless throughout the race with them driving superbly and putting pressure on the two Ferrari drivers which seem like their main competition at this point. Kimi Antonelli during the race became the youngest race leader ever, taking that record from Max Verstappen. He also earned the record of youngest fastest lap setter which was again taken by him from Max. Kimi although a rookie is proving to be fast enough compared to the big boys at the top teams like Ferrari and Red Bull.
Isack Hadjar scored his first points ever by completing the race in P8. Just a clinical drive by him. He qualified P7 even after having problems with his seatbelts. Also, in the race Hamilton, his idol was the only one who overtook him in a much faster car. So overall, he was the fastest driver in the midfield pack. Also, he was miles ahead of his new teammate Liam Lawson who completed the race in P17. A much better result by Liam compared to his time at Red Bull but yet not there in terms of pace he has shown during the last 2 seasons.
Oliver Bearman is one of the best performing rookies currently, constantly maximizing the full potential of the car and in this race he beat his rather quite experienced teammate Esteban Ocon to finish in the points. This haul of points over the last couple races has put Haas P6 in the constructors, an unexpected place in the constructors after how they started the season.
Alexander Albon is just producing stellar performances race after race after race. He has finished in the points in all his outings this season in a WILLIAMS. Since Carlos Sainz became his teammate he has been pushing himself even harder and showing his ultimate potential which has been somewhat not fully shown over the past few years. Due to Albon's jaw dropping performances Williams has already outscored their last years points total in just three race weekends.
The Kick Sauber team just look to be the slowest car on the grid with them not being even near the points after the lucky points haul of Hulkenberg in Melbourne due to changing conditions. Aston Martin do not seem to have a fast car plus their drivers are highly inconsistent this season with Stroll performing well in the first two races but in this race qualifying and finishing P20. Alonso has also had bad luck with not being able to finish the first two races of the season and finishing P11 this time round.
With this we are done with the Japanese Grand Prix and have to wait until next year to see the fans' and drivers' favourite track, Suzuka again.
In the coming week we head to Bahrain, the first night race of the season. A race track which has given us some great battles and thrilling races. We head there to see whether McLaren can continue their dominant form or can either Ferrari, Mercedes or Max again can turn the tables and Win.
All will be unfurled during the race to chequered flag in the desert....
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