Four time World Drivers Champion Max Verstappen continues to show his skills after turning an unexpected pole position into a surprising victory at the Japanese Grand Prix. Verstappen acknowledged his victory as a pleasant farewell gift in Red Bull’s final Japanese Grand Prix with Honda. The driver thanked Honda for their work with Red Bull, their eight year partnership coming to an end following Honda’s upcoming switch to Aston Martin in 2026. The McLarens rounded out the podium in Japan, with Lando Norris finishing in P2 1.423 seconds behind Verstappen and teammate Oscar Piastri crossing the checkered flag just 0.706 seconds behind him for P3.
McLaren were highly anticipated to continue their reign of dominance this past weekend. Both McLaren drivers seemed to be set up for success in what would be their third front row lock out in a row before Verstappen swooped in to take pole position as one of the last flying laps in Q3. With a time of 1:22:06.983, Verstappen set a new track record and took his first pole since Austria in 2024.
Verstappen was able to stay ahead of both McLaren drivers throughout the race. The closest Norris got to overtaking Verstappen was coming out of a pit stop in Lap 22, where all three drivers were called in for a tire change at the same time. Verstappen was released first with Norris closely behind, but ultimately Norris was unable to pass the Red Bull driver and ended up driving on to the grass alongside him instead. Norris claimed that he was forced off while Verstappen radioed in his team to tell them that Norris “drove himself onto the grass,” the stewards eventually aligning with Verstappen and not giving out any penalties for the incident.
Despite the success of Verstappen, his newly promoted teammate Yuki Tsunoda was not as fortunate this weekend. Japan was the first race where the hometown hero would drive for Red Bull since replacing rookie Liam Lawson. Lawson struggled in the first two races, scoring zero points for the team in comparison to Verstappen’s 36. Tsunoda ended his qualifying session right below Lawson, qualifying at a mediocre P15 and P14, respectively. A three-place grid penalty for Williams’ Carlos Sainz Jr. for impeding on Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton during Q3 relegated Sainz Jr. to P15, bumping Tsunoda up to P14 and Lawson to P13. Unfortunately for Tsunoda, he was unable to score any points during his home race with his new team, ending the race at a disappointing P12, his predecessor Lawson at an even more disappointing P17.
Turn 17 was the most problematic for the drivers, with multiple people locking up and leaving the track. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was one of the drivers who struggled at Turn 17, the turn causing one of his lap times to be deleted for track limits. Antonelli led the race for a few laps as other drivers pitted, becoming the youngest driver to ever lead a grand prix. The 18-year-old finished the race in P6, right behind teammate George Russell at P5, and recorded the fastest lap of the day on Lap 50 with a time of 1:30.165.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari had his best finish of the season so far at P4, with his teammate Hamilton finishing behind the Mercedes pair at P7. Isack Hadjar continues to have an impressive rookie season, scoring points at P8 even after multiple issues with his seatbelt during free practice and qualifying. Alexander Albon of Williams and Oliver Bearman of Haas rounded out the point finishers at P9 and P10, a great result for both mid-level teams.
With the win this weekend, Verstappen now sits a mere one point behind first place Norris in the Drivers Championship standings, followed by Piastri 12 points behind Verstappen in third place. Red Bull continue to sit behind McLaren and Mercedes in the Constructors Championship, with their points earned solely by Verstappen. Ferrari has moved up to fourth place in the Constructors after a relatively decent result by Leclerc and Hamilton this weekend. Alpine continues to be the only constructor who has put up zero points in the standings.
The teams and drivers are heading straight to Bahrain for the second race weekend of this month’s tripleheader. Tune in to the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend, starting with free practice on April 11 and concluding with the Grand Prix on April 13.
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