Winners and Losers from 2025 F1 Japanese Grand Prix

Max Verstappen converted a shock pole position into victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, marking his first win of the season.

Lando Norris secured second for McLaren, whilst Oscar Piastri completed a two-three for the Woking-based team. Just 2.1 seconds split the leading trio. 

The race itself was one for the purist, with only one positional change in the top 10, all 20 drivers finishing the race, and not one yellow flag during the 53 laps of racing.

So, who has made the RacingNews365 list of winners and losers for the 2025 F1 Japanese Grand Prix?

Winner – Max Verstappen

The biggest winner of the Japanese GP is undoubtedly the actual winner of the race, Verstappen. He was sensational on his way to a fourth consecutive victory at Suzuka. 

His victory broke the record for most wins in a row at the Japanese circuit to complete the perfect final home race for Honda in partnership with Red Bull. 

Verstappen controlled the grand prix following an excellent start from pole. However, his weekend highlight was breaking the lap record in qualifying. 

Nobody expected Verstappen to beat the McLarens to pole, let alone smash the lap record. He was back to his imperious best and is now just a point behind Norris in the F1 drivers’ title fight.

Loser – McLaren

Verstappen’s victory marked McLaren’s first loss of the season, and one it potentially could have prevented. 

Both Piastri and Norris looked set to qualify on the front row, with the pair topping Q1 and Q2, respectively. 

When it mattered most, though, neither put together a perfect lap, resulting in defeat to Verstappen. This proved costly in the race, as overtaking was near-impossible. 

Whilst it extended its lead in the constructors’ standings to 36 points, McLaren played its strategy too safe at Suzuka when in the perfect position to try to get past the Dutch driver.

Winner – Kimi Antonelli

With so little happening in the grand prix due to minimal overtaking, picking three winners is extremely difficult. 

However, Kimi Antonelli is an obvious one after breaking two Verstappen records for the youngest driver to lead a race and set the fastest lap. 

The Italian teenager had struggled during free practice and was in the drop zone ahead of his final lap in Q1, but suddenly managed to put everything together to qualify in sixth. 

Antonelli converted this into P6 in the race and demonstrated remarkable composure to extend his opening stint on the medium tyres to 30 laps. Mercedes has a star on its hands. 

Loser – Jack Doohan

Whilst Antonelli is thriving, fellow rookie Jack Doohan is on the brink of becoming the second driver change of the year. 

The Australian was replaced by Ryo Hirakawa in first practice, before crashing at 185 mph just six minutes into FP2. 

With the exception of the power unit, the entire car was replaced, whilst the accident itself was caused by Doohan failing to close his DRS before entering the first corner. 

He is yet to experience a grand prix without a setback after crashing in Australia, collecting four penalty points in China and now crashing in Japan. Time is not on his side.

Winner – Yuki Tsunoda

A strange addition to the winners list, but one which can be explained. Yuki Tsunoda did not have the Red Bull debut he had hoped for, although he can take a lot of confidence from it. 

Qualifying in 15th and finishing 12th is far from ideal for Tsunoda at his home race, whose weekend was, ultimately, ruined by a mistake at the first corner in Q2. 

Except for his error, it was a very positive Red Bull debut for the Japanese driver, who was immediately within three-tenths of Verstappen from first practice. 

Unlike Liam Lawson, Tsunoda looked comfortable in the RB21 straightaway and is a driver to watch in Bahrain.

Loser – Carlos Sainz

It has been a terrible start to life at Williams for Carlos Sainz, who also faced the wrath of the FIA in Japan under extraordinary circumstances. 

He failed to score a point and was adrift of team-mate Alex Albon, whilst he also collected €21,000 worth of fines across the event. 

Williams received a €1,000 fine after Sainz was caught speeding in the pit lane by 13.7 km/h, before he received a staggering €20,000 fine – half of which has been suspended for 12 months – for being late to the national anthem. 

The usual fine for being late to the national anthem is €60,000, however, Sainz was given a reduced fine as an FIA doctor confirmed he had a stomach issue and required medication.