Max Verstappen Wins in Suzuka With McLarens Breathing Down His Neck

SUZUKA, JAPAN – APRIL 06: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB21 leads Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes and Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka Circuit on April 06, 2025 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

Max Verstappen, whose Red Bull occasionally looks less like a car and more like a guided missile, held off a pair of papaya-colored predators in Suzuka to take his first win of the 2025 season—and his fourth in a row at the Japanese Grand Prix Sunday, a feat even the sport’s greats never managed.

It wasn’t easy. In fact, it was vintage Verstappen: fast off the line, cool under pressure, and ruthlessly precise when it mattered. He led from pole, but the two McLarens—driven by the endlessly likable Lando Norris and the ice-cold Aussie Oscar Piastri—gave him zero breathing room for the entire afternoon.

After matching pit stops on the same lap, Norris came screaming out of the box like a man possessed, nearly alongside Verstappen in the pit exit lane. There was a moment—just a flicker—when you thought, this might be it. But Max didn’t blink. He held his line, Norris got squeezed onto the grass, and Race Control took one look at it and essentially said, “This is Formula 1, not bumper bowling.” No investigation. No penalties. Just hard, beautiful racing.

From there, Verstappen managed the lead like he was walking a tightrope with a lion behind him—keeping the McLarens close enough to stay interesting but never close enough to pounce. He crossed the line 1.4 seconds ahead of Norris, who must’ve felt like he was chasing a ghost, and Piastri followed in third, another half a second back.

“It was tough,” Verstappen admitted afterward. “Especially that second stint. The McLarens were on it.” He grinned, in that way champions do when they’ve just reminded the world who’s boss. “We didn’t give up. We made the car better every session, and today it was right where it needed to be.”

Behind the front three, Charles Leclerc was best of the rest in fourth, holding off George Russell’s Mercedes by a whisker. And in a refreshing sign that Mercedes is finally moving beyond the Hamilton Era, 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli brought it home in sixth—cool, calm, and very quick.

Speaking of Hamilton, he rolled the dice with a Hard-to-Medium strategy and salvaged seventh. Not spectacular, but respectable. Just behind him came a genuine highlight: rookie Isack Hadjar scoring his first career points for the Racing Bulls in eighth, followed by Alex Albon in ninth for Williams, and Ollie Bearman bagging the final point for Haas with a quietly excellent drive.

So Verstappen is back. The McLarens are coming. And if Suzuka was a preview of how 2025 is going to go, we’re in for one hell of a season.

SUZUKA, JAPAN – APRIL 06: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing lifts his trophy on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka Circuit on April 06, 2025 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Japanese Grand Prix Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	53	1:22:06.983	25
2	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	53	+1.423s	18
3	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	53	+2.129s	15
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	53	+16.097s	12
5	63	George Russell	Mercedes	53	+17.362s	10
6	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	53	+18.671s	8
7	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	53	+29.182s	6
8	6	Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls Honda RBPT	53	+37.134s	4
9	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	53	+40.367s	2
10	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas Ferrari	53	+54.529s	1
11	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	53	+57.333s	0
12	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	53	+58.401s	0
13	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	53	+62.122s	0
14	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams Mercedes	53	+74.129s	0
15	7	Jack Doohan	Alpine Renault	53	+81.314s	0
16	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Kick Sauber Ferrari	53	+81.957s	0
17	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls Honda RBPT	53	+82.734s	0
18	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas Ferrari	53	+83.438s	0
19	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Kick Sauber Ferrari	53	+83.897s	0
20	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	52	+1 lap	0

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Greg Engle

Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community.

Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.

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