McLaren says it had to choose between potentially sacrificing Oscar Piastri or losing time to Max Verstappen on new hard tyres when it came to Lando Norris’ Japanese Grand Prix strategy, which explains the decision to pit the Briton on the same lap as the Red Bull driver.Team principal AndreaContinue Reading
Lando Norris has downplayed the clash he had with Max Verstappen on the pit exit during the Japanese Grand Prix, describing it as “simply racing”.Verstappen took the win at Suzuka in the last outing for the Red Bull-Honda partnership at the Japanese manufacturer’s home track, scoring his first victory ofContinue Reading
Max Verstappen held off the two McLarens throughout the Japanese Grand Prix to clinch his first Formula 1 victory of 2025 in a flawless performance, crossing the line with a 1.4s advantage.The Red Bull driver capitalised on his impressive qualifying run to put together a controlled drive at the frontContinue Reading
Coming into Q3, McLaren had topped every session of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend – free practice, Q1, and Q2 – positioning the Woking-based team as the clear favourite for pole. Oscar Piastri led the way after the first runs in Q3, with Verstappen trailing by a quarter of aContinue Reading
Oliver Bearman admitted he did not expect to get out of the first qualifying session for the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix before putting his Haas 10th on the grid.Having benefitted from a trio of disqualifications to finish eighth last time out in China, Bearman continued to impress after progressingContinue Reading
Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are pinning their hopes on upgrades in Ferrari’s pipeline. The Scuderia’s drivers feel that the SF-25 in its current specification is lacking performance in comparison to the Mercedes and Red Bull cars.Ferrari made a significant change to its car concept over the off-season inContinue Reading
Despite returning to the slower Racing Bulls car, Liam Lawson outqualified his Red Bull replacement Yuki Tsunoda in Japan. But there are signs Red Bull’s merciless switch may actually be working already.Leaving aside the ruthlessness of Red Bull’s decision to demote Lawson after two difficult races on circuits he didn’tContinue Reading
Lengthy rain showers have been forecast for Suzuka overnight on Saturday and into Sunday, with the expected downpours set to halt the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix grass fires.Five separate incidents of scorched turf have delayed track action across the weekend so far, with two red flags in FP2, twoContinue Reading
Lando Norris insists he is much happier with his McLaren Formula 1 car than he was in China – despite being beaten to Japanese Grand Prix pole by Max Verstappen.The current championship leader bemoaned small margins for missing out on pole by 0.012 seconds at Suzuka as Verstappen surprisingly tookContinue Reading
Williams driver Carlos Sainz has received a three-place grid penalty for Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix for impeding Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in qualifying.Arriving at high speed into Turn 1 for his final flying lap in Q2, Hamilton encountered Sainz in the middle of the road, having to abort his lapContinue Reading