The 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, officially known as the Formula 1 Lenovo Japanese Grand Prix 2025, was the third race of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship, It was held at the Suzuka International Racing Course, on the weekend of 4th to 6th of April 2025.
Background[]
Suzuka has been a mainstay of the F1 calendar, hosting the Japanese Grand Prix since 1987 (except for interruptions, notably during the global pandemic). In a strategic scheduling change aimed at reducing logistical travel distances and carbon emissions, the Japanese GP was moved from its traditional autumn slot to early April, positioned between the Chinese and Bahrain rounds. Also, the contract to hold the race at Suzuka was extended through at least 2029.
Lando Norris (McLaren) was leading the Drivers’ Championship. He had earned strong results in the first two rounds, giving him the early points lead. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was in 2nd, trying to close the gap, having been competitive particularly in China. George Russell was in third in the standings, with Oscar Piastri in fourth and Kimi Antonelli in fifth.
A key driver swap preceded the race: Yuki Tsunoda was promoted from Racing Bulls to Red Bull Racing, replacing Liam Lawson, who moved in the opposite direction. Additionally, Ryō Hirakawa, Alpine’s reserve driver, took part in the first practice session in place of Jack Doohan.
Red Bull ran a special livery for the Japanese GP, inspired by the Honda RA272’s historic 1960s design, in tribute to their partnership with Honda (which was scheduled to end after the 2025 season).
Suzuka implemented several sustainability efforts: the installation of new solar panels and the use of HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) fuel for generators in the paddock.
Entry List[]
The full entry for the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix is outlined below:
Practice Overview[]
Three practice sessions were held during the weekend. The first free practice session took place on Friday, at 11:30 local time (UTC+9). Lando Norris (McLaren) topped the timing sheet, ahead of George Russell (Mercedes) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)[2].
The second free practice session took place on the same day, at 15:00 local time. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) topped the session, ahead of his teammateLando Norris and Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls). Four red flags were called at the session, the first due to Jack Doohan (Alpine) crashing heavily into the barriers at turn 1; the second due to Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) spinning into the gravel around the Degner corners; the last two were due to seperate grass fires.[3]
The third free practice session took place on Saturday, at 11:30 local time. Lando Norris topped the session, ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri and George Russell. Another two red flags were observed at the session, both were grass fires.[4]
Qualifying[]
Q1[]
Early laps were dominated by the Red Bulls and McLarens, with Max Verstappen setting the benchmark time of 1:27.943, comfortably securing his place in the next phase. The 107 % cutoff time was calculated at approximately 1:33.825, meaning all entrants remained within the required limit.
Yuki Tsunoda, making his first home qualifying appearance as a Red Bull Racing driver, narrowly advanced in fifteenth position with a time of 1:27.967. His former teammate Liam Lawson, now driving for Racing Bulls, also managed to reach Q2 after setting a solid lap of 1:28.554, despite struggling with rear-end instability through the final sector.
The five drivers eliminated in Q1 were Lance Stroll, Jack Doohan, Esteban Ocon, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Nico Hülkenberg, who filled positions sixteen through twenty respectively.
Q2[]
Max Verstappen again led the early exchanges, setting a 1:27.402 on his first run, while both McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri remained close behind, separated by just a few hundredths of a second.
The Mercedes pair of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli also showed strong pace, comfortably progressing into the top ten with consistent runs. Antonelli’s performance drew particular attention as the rookie matched Russell’s times through the first sector. Further back, Charles Leclerc struggled to extract performance from the Ferrari, which appeared unsettled in the high-speed esses. Leclerc narrowly made it through in tenth place.
Q3[]
Max Verstappen delivered his best lap of the weekend, a 1:26.983, to claim pole position — edging out Lando Norris by just 0.012 seconds. Norris pushed hard, putting in a strong time of 1:26.995, but was unable to top Verstappen’s lap. Oscar Piastri slotted into third with a 1:27.027, just four hundredths of a second behind the pole-sitter.
Behind the front three, Charles Leclerc secured fourth on the grid with a 1:27.299, showing good mid-session pace for Ferrari. Mercedes drivers followed, with George Russell in P5 (1:27.318) and rookie Kimi Antonelli in P6 (1:27.555).
Further down the order, Isack Hadjar impressed by qualifying seventh, ahead of Lewis Hamilton in eighth, who could only match a 1:27.610. Alex Albon claimed ninth (1:27.615), and Oliver Bearman rounded out the top ten with a 1:27.867.
Qualifying Results[]
The full qualifying results for the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Grid | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Time | Pos. | Time | Pos. | Time | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 |  Max Verstappen
|
 Red Bull-Honda RBPT
|
6 | 1:27.943 | 3 | 1:27.502 | 1 | 1:26.983 | 1 | |||
| 2 | 4 |  Lando Norris
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
3 | 1:27.845 | 1 | 1:27.146 | 2 | 1:26.995 | 2 | |||
| 3 | 81 |  Oscar Piastri
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
1 | 1:27.687 | 4 | 1:27.507 | 3 | 1:27.027 | 3 | |||
| 4 | 16 |  Charles Leclerc
|
 Ferrari
|
4 | 1:27.920 | 5 | 1:27.555 | 4 | 1:27.299 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 63 | George Russell
|
 Mercedes
|
2 | 1:27.843 | 2 | 1:27.400 | 5 | 1:27.318 | 5 | |||
| 6 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli
|
Mercedes
|
8 | 1:27.968 | 7 | 1:27.639 | 6 | 1:27.555 | 6 | |||
| 7 | 6 |  Isack Hadjar
|
RB-Honda RBPT
|
13 | 1:28.278 | 9 | 1:27.775 | 7 | 1:27.569 | 7 | |||
| 8 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton
|
Ferrari
|
5 | 1:27.942 | 6 | 1:27.610 | 8 | 1:27.610 | 8 | |||
| 9 | 23 |  Alexander Albon
|
Williams-Mercedes
|
11 | 1:28.218 | 10 | 1:27.783 | 9 | 1:27.615 | 9 | |||
| 10 | 87 | Oliver Bearman
|
 Haas-Ferrari
|
12 | 1:28.228 | 8 | 1:27.711 | 10 | 1:27.867 | 10 | |||
| 11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly
|
Alpine-Renault
|
9 | 1:28.186 | 11 | 1:27.822 | 11 | |||||
| 12 | 55 |  Carlos Sainz
|
Williams-Mercedes
|
10 | 1:28.209 | 12 | 1:27.836 | 12 | |||||
| 13 | 14 | Fernando Alonso
|
Aston Martin-Mercedes
|
14 | 1:28.337 | 13 | 1:27.897 | 13 | |||||
| 14 | 30 |  Liam Lawson
|
RB-Honda RBPT
|
15 | 1:28.554 | 14 | 1:27.906 | 14 | |||||
| 15 | 22 |  Yuki Tsunoda
|
Red Bull-Honda RBPT
|
7 | 1:27.967 | 15 | 1:28.000 | 15 | |||||
| 16 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg
|
 Sauber-Ferrari
|
16 | 1:28.570 | 16 | |||||||
| 17 | 5 |  Gabriel Bortoleto
|
Sauber-Ferrari
|
17 | 1:28.622 | 17 | |||||||
| 18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon
|
Haas-Ferrari
|
18 | 1:28.696 | 18 | |||||||
| 19 | 7 | Jack Doohan
|
Alpine-Renault
|
19 | 1:28.877 | 19 | |||||||
| 20 | 18 |  Lance Stroll
|
Aston Martin-Mercedes
|
20 | 1:29.271 | 20 | |||||||
| 107% Time: 1:33.825 | |||||||||||||
| Source:[5] | |||||||||||||
- Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
Grid[]
| Pos. | Pos. | |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | |
| ______________ | ||
| Row 1 | ______________ | 1 |
| 2 | 1. Verstappen
| |
| 4. Norris
|
______________ | |
| Row 2 | ______________ | 3 |
| 4 | 81. Piastri
| |
| 16. Leclerc
|
______________ | |
| Row 3 | ______________ | 5 |
| 6 | 63. Russell
| |
| 12. Antonelli
|
______________ | |
| Row 4 | ______________ | 7 |
| 8 | 6. Hadjar
| |
| 44. Hamilton
|
______________ | |
| Row 5 | ______________ | 9 |
| 10 | 23. Albon
| |
| 87. Bearman
|
______________ | |
| Row 6 | ______________ | 11 |
| 12 | 10. Gasly
| |
| 55. Sainz
|
______________ | |
| Row 7 | ______________ | 13 |
| 14 | 14. Alonso
| |
| 30. Lawson
|
______________ | |
| Row 8 | ______________ | 15 |
| 16 | 22. Tsunoda
| |
| 27. Hülkenberg
|
______________ | |
| Row 9 | ______________ | 17 |
| 18 | 5. Bortoleto
| |
| 31. Ocon
|
______________ | |
| Row 10 | ______________ | 19 |
| 20 | 7. Doohan
| |
| 18. Stroll
|
______________ |
Race[]
Report[]
The start was clean with little drama. Verstappen got a perfect launch and maintained the lead into Turn 1, ahead of Norris and Piastri, the McLaren pairing slotting into their qualifying order. In the midfield, Fernando Alonso made an early move, passing Pierre GaIsly for 11th place, while Yuki Tsunoda, debuting in a Red Bull seat, managed to overtake Liam Lawson in the early laps. Verstappen signalled some early gremlins, complaining of difficulty with gear changes, particularly in Sector 1, though these issues appeared to resolve themselves as the race progressed.
Over the opening laps, the top ten remained largely stable. Norris shadowed Verstappen, keeping the gap around one second as he gauged his opportunity. Piastri kept himself in close contact as the chase pack, including Charles Leclerc and George Russell, applied steady pressure behind them. Tyre degradation proved milder than many had anticipated, which constrained overtaking opportunities and meant that track position would be crucial. Verstappen, Norris, and Piastri all opted for a one-stop strategy.
The key moment in the pit phase occurred when Norris rejoined the track side-by-side with Verstappen after his stop, briefly threatening to undercut. The pair emerged almost in parallel; Norris ended up on the grass before fully rejoining, but the stewards judged that no infringement had occurred and allowed the re-entry to stand. That operation—with Verstappen coming out untroubled—proved pivotal, as it allowed him to preserve his lead into the second half of the race.
Behind the leading trio, Leclerc, Russell, and Kimi Antonelli executed solid pit work and held position, though none could make a substantive in-race overtake. Lewis Hamilton, running a different tyre choice early on, made inroads in mid-race by overtaking Isack Hadjar for seventh on lap 6, climbing through the order before settling into a steady rhythm.
In the lower midfield, Tsunoda was hampered by his early pass over Lawson, which left him stuck behind Gasly for much of the race, unable to make further progress toward the points.
In the closing laps, Verstappen was rarely threatened. Norris attempted to stay close, but lacked the pace or opportunity to mount a serious attack. Piastri, meanwhile, looked to press Norris for second but never quite put himself in a position to challenge for the win. The top six positions mirrored their starting order: Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Russell, and Antonelli.
Results[]
The full race results for the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix are outlined below:
Milestones[]
- Max Verstappen secured his 64th career victory, and his first win of the 2025 season. He became the first driver ever to win four consecutive Japanese Grands Prix at Suzuka.
- Kimi Antonelli set two new Formula 1 records: he became the youngest driver ever to lead a Grand Prix and the youngest to set the official fastest lap. His fastest lap was 1:30.965 on lap 50, which now stands as the official race lap record at Suzuka in F1.
- Fernando Alonso equalled Michael Schumacher’s record for most Japanese GP starts with his 19th appearance.
- Leclerc reached his 150th Grand Prix start.
Standings[]
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References[]
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ 2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.
- ↑ https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/fp1-norris-tops-first-japanese-gp-practice-as-tsunoda-debuts-for-red-bull.6GD22afnzgUDGM2LLOBL3K
- ↑ https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/fp2-piastri-sets-the-pace-as-doohan-crashes-amid-disrupted-second-practice.53OR6t0BPXiKR7BVTnEvPF
- ↑ https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/fp3-norris-leads-piastri-and-russell-during-final-japanese-gp-practice.vsfGLvqpbhuKiCx2Abrom
- ↑ 2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Final Qualifying Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.
- ↑ 2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Final Race Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.
| v·d·e | Nominate this page for Featured Article |
| V T E | 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship | |
|---|---|---|
| Teams | Alpine • Aston Martin • Ferrari • Haas • McLaren • Mercedes • RB • Red Bull• Sauber • Williams | |
| Engines | Ferrari 066/12 • Mercedes-AMG F1 M15 • Honda RBPTH002 • Renault E-Tech RE24 | |
| Drivers | 1 Verstappen • 4 Norris • 10 Gasly • 11 Perez • 12 Antonelli • 14 Alonso • 16 Leclerc • 18 Stroll • 22 Tsunoda • 23 Albon • 27 Hulkenberg • 30 Lawson • 31 Ocon • 44 Hamilton • 50 Bearman • 55 Sainz • 61 Doohan • 63 Russell • 81 Piastri • Bortoleto | |
| Team Reports | Alpine • Aston Martin • Ferrari • Haas • McLaren • Mercedes • RB • Red Bull • Sauber • Williams | |
| Driver Reports | Verstappen • Norris • Gasly • Perez • Antonelli • Alonso • Leclerc • Stroll • Tsunoda • Albon • Hulkenberg • Lawson • Ocon • Hamilton • Bearman • Sainz • Doohan • Russell • Piastri • Bortoleto | |
| Other Drivers | ||
| Cars | Alpine A525 • Aston Martin AMR25 • Ferrari SF-25 • Haas VF-25 • McLaren MCL39 • Mercedes W16 • Red Bull RB21 • Racing Bulls VCARB 02 • Williams FW47 • Kick Sauber C45 | |
| Tyres | Pirelli | |
| Races | Australia • China • Japan • Bahrain • Saudi Arabia • Miami • Imola • Monaco • Spain • Canada • Austria • United Kingdom • Belgium • Hungary • Netherlands • Italy • Azerbaijan • Singapore • United States • Mexico • Brazil • Vegas • Qatar • UAE | |
| Tests | ||
| See also | 2024 Formula One Season • 2026 Formula One Season • Category | |
| V T E | Japanese Grand Prix
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Circuits | Fuji (1976–1977, 2007–2008), Suzuka (1987–2006, 2009–present) |  |
| Races | 1976 • 1977 • 1978–1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019 • | |
| See also | Pacific Grand Prix |