Max Verstappen controlled the Japanese Grand Prix from the front to seal victory over the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, his fourth in a row at Suzuka – a new record.
Charles Leclerc enjoyed a comfortable and uneventful day to claim fourth, ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell.
Kimi Antonelli had a day for the history books as well, becoming the youngest-ever driver to lead an F1 race, beating Verstappen’s record from 2016 by just two days. The 18-year-old also became the youngest driver to clinch the fastest lap in a grand prix.
Fellow rookie Isack Hadjar scored the first points of his career by finishing eighth, with Alex Albon continuing his ever-present top 10 streak in 2025.
All 20 drivers finished at Suzuka, something that was achieved four times last season.
Report continues after top three graphic.
Opening salvo
The leading trio all made a clean start in the damp conditions, as did the rest of the pack in an unusually tidy opening lap at Suzuka.
The top 12 all remained in their starting positions, whilst Yuki Tsunoda displaced the man he replaced at Red Bull, moving into P13 at Liam Lawson’s expense.
The vast majority of the pack opted for new mediums Pirellis for the first phase of the race. Lewis Hamilton decided upon the white-walled hard compound from eighth.
Despite the tricky conditions, with all cars on slick tyres on a drying track, it was not until the end of lap two that anyone veered off track, when Kimi Antonelli missed the final chicane. However, the young Italian remained sixth place.
At the start of lap six, Hamilton overtook the Isack Hadjar for seventh, a driver who idolised him growing up, into the first corner to change the top 10 for the first time.
By this stage, Verstappen was already getting towards two seconds clear of Norris in the battle up front. Piastri remained tucked up in the DRS window behind his McLaren team-mate.
Soft tyre starter Lance Stroll, who occupied the final slot on the grid, was the first driver to pit. The Aston Martin man coming in at the end of lap nine.
With the gap to Verstappen having hovered at the two-second mark for a while, Norris began to close on lap 18, shrinking the deficit to one-and-a-half seconds as engineer Will Joseph came on team radio to confirm ‘pit to undercut’ the Dutchman at the end of the lap.
That attempted dummy did not trick Red Bull, with the front runners continuing unchanged until Piastri stopped at the end of lap 20, to cover off George Russell, who came in the lap prior.
© Red Bull Content Pool
Mid-phase and pit stops
Verstappen and Norris stopped together at the end of the subsequent lap. The McLaren stop was a second quicker, with the pair emerging side-by-side to one another.
There was not enough space for both, and Norris ended up on the grass at pit exit. The 25-year-old was straight on the radio to complain he was pushed off. Meanwhile, the four-time F1 drivers’ champion defended himself, saying the McLaren drove onto the grass of his own accord – it was noted but not further investigated by the stewards.
By this stage, Antonelli was leading his first grand prix, the youngest-ever driver to do so, from Hamilton and Hadjar.
Further back Alex Albon was quick to take Williams to task over his “ridiculous” late stop, unsure as to why he was kept out longer than those around him. It had proved inconsequential, as he still led Ollie Bearman and was poised for another points finish.
Tsunoda suffered a slight off-track excursion at the final chicane, as he failed to make his way through the pack under the strain of his high-downforce set up.
At the start of lap 30, Hadjar pulled off a beautiful move on Carlos Sainz, who was yet to stop. Up front another rookie, Antonelli, continued to impress as well, holding steady before pitting at the end of lap 31. This returned the leading eight to their pre-stops order.
© XPBimages
Closing stages
After the pit stop phase, Verstappen and the McLarens settled back into their previous groove. Norris continued to slowly close in on the Red Bull, as Piastri put himself into his DRS zone behind, applying a little pressure on his team-mate.
GP Lambiase confirmed over radio that the team was happy for the Dutchman to push, as he gently managed the gap behind him.
By the start of lap 41, the Australian McLaren driver, on his 24th birthday, was within half a second of Norris, but did not come close to taking the position from the Briton.
Piastri, growing impatient, pushed the Woking squad to force his team-mate into making a move on Verstappen, arguing he had the pace himself to get the 27-year-old ahead.
That appeared to be the wake-up call Norris needed, quickly breaking DRS behind and closing in on the Red Bull.
However, neither McLaren had enough in their locker to truly trouble Verstappen, with the top three – and following three – finishing the Japanese Grand Prix in the same order it was started in.
