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Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen during the 2025 F1 Japanese Grand Prix.
(Photo: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool)

Max Verstappen Takes 1st Win of 2025 at the Japanese Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen claimed his first F1 victory of 2025 at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday (April 6), despite being pressured by the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner hailed the win as “Truly inspirational.”

“It was tough, just pushing very hard, especially on the last set [of tires],” Verstappen told Sky Sports’ James Hinchcliffe after the race. “Starting on pole, that really made it possible to win this race. It’s important to maximize your performance, and I think we did that very well this weekend.”

Charles Leclerc finished fourth, followed by the two Mercedes of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

How it Unfolded

Overcast skies, lower temperatures and a slightly damp Suzuka track presented different conditions for the teams on Sunday. However, they didn’t warrant wet tires and all cars lined up on dry compounds.

Verstappen’s Red Bull had a lower downforce setup than the nearby McLarens, giving him a theoretical advantage in a straight line and it proved to be enough to give him the lead into the first corner.

The famous ‘S’ curves of Suzuka’s opening sector have been the scene of many first-lap altercations in years gone by, but all cars passed through without incident, a theme that continued for the rest of the race.

By the end of the first lap, Verstappen had drawn away to a lead of more than one second. Yuki Tsunoda, in his first race for Red Bull, passed the Racing Bull of Liam Lawson in next-to-no time. Red Bull had swapped the two drivers before this race, drawing significant media attention.

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Starting in eighth, Lewis Hamilton was one of the only cars to start on the white-striped hard compound, a strategy designed to give him an advantage during the first pit stops. The penalty was potentially slower pace during the opening laps, but that didn’t stop him claiming an early position from Isack Hadjar.

By lap nine, Verstappen had opened a 2-second gap to Norris, the McLaren team advising their driver that rain might arrive by lap 20.

Pit stop strategies came to the fore on lap 18 with McLaren telling Norris to “box to overtake Max,” then updating the advice as Norris approached the pit entry, saying “stay out.”

Verstappen appeared to be aware of the threat, asking his team, “Do you want me to push now?” and getting a response in the affirmative from his engineer.

Piastri, running in third place, pitted on lap 20, followed one lap later by Verstappen, Norris and Leclerc. Norris made up one second during the tire change, almost being released into the path of Verstappen’s Red Bull.

As the pair approached the pit exit, Norris attempted to overtake Verstappen, running onto the grass and losing all the gains he’d made on the leader.

Having not yet stopped, Antonelli was leading an F1 race for the first time in his career and was also the youngest driver ever to do so. Hamilton, still on his hard compound tires, was now in second.

On fresher tires, Verstappen began closing the gap to Hamilton, eventually forcing the latter into locking his worn tires. Hamilton took his Ferrari into the pits for fresh rubber only one turn later.

With both Hamilton and Antonelli having pitted by lap 32, normal service was resumed at the front, Verstappen leading the race from Norris and Piastri, the three cars separated by less than 3.5 seconds.

With 20 laps remaining, Verstappen was told he was free to push to the checkered flag, setting up a head-to-head sprint with the McLarens.

While Verstappen held the gap to Norris, Piastri had also closed up in the sister McLaren, telling his team that he was faster and had the pace to catch the Red Bull.

Despite both McLarens pushing hard for the last 10 laps, they were unable to get within the critical one-second gap to Verstappen, who drove an almost faultless race to take the win.

2025 F1 Japanese Grand Prix Results

The 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix is only one week away. Coverage on ESPN will begin at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, April 13.

Peter Molloy began following Formula 1 during the 1985 Australian Grand Prix. He cheered for a certain Ayrton Senna, who was driving the same black and gold colors as a toy F1 car that Pete had been given. Pete continued to be a fan of Senna throughout his childhood. Fast forward many moons, and Peter now combines significant journalistic experience with decades of watching F1 to cover the latest on-track and off-track action.