The start of the race was pretty calm as everyone managed to avoid any drama. Max Verstappen had the perfect take off from pole, keeping the lead into Turn 1 ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri . The top ten stayed in the same order through the first lap, while Fernando Alonso made an early move by passing Pierre Gasly for 11th. Behind them, Yuki Tsunoda got the better start over Liam Lawson and squeezed past him.

Verstappen built a small gap in the opening laps, staying just over a second ahead of Norris, though he reported problems with gear changes, especially in the first sector. Lewis Hamilton, who started on hard tyres, was the first in the top ten to make a move, overtaking Isack Hadjar for seventh on lap six.

Once Verstappen’s car issues settled, he began to extend his lead over Norris. Piastri remained close in third, with Leclerc and Russell not far behind. Norris stayed within range, and McLaren looked ready to challenge Red Bull when the pit stop window opened.

Tsunoda, despite overtaking Lawson so quickly, got stuck behind his former teammate Pierre Gasly in 13th place and wasn't able to get close enoigh to make a move and start the hunt for points.

McLaren then tried to put pressure on Red Bull by faking a pit stop call for Norris, telling him to box and then quickly changing their minds. Ferrari were also unsure, unable to find a clean gap in the midfield traffic. Mercedes took the risk and pitted Russell early, rejoining behind Tsunoda.

On lap 21,  was the first of the leading trio to head into the pits. Verstappen and Norris followed a lap later, but a slightly slower stop for the Dutchman meant he suddenly found himself alongside Norris. The two went wheel-to-wheel at the pit exit, with Norris running off onto the grass. He immediately claimed Verstappen had pushed him wide, but after reviewing the incident, the stewards deemed no further action was necessary.

With the top runners having stopped, Kimi Antonelli, who was still yet to pit, found himself leading the race for the first time and became the youngest one to ever do so. He stayed out for several laps before finally boxing, giving the lead back to Verstappen on lap 32. The order returned to what it had been earlier, with Verstappen leading Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Russell, and Antonelli.

After his later pit stop, Lewis Hamilton, who started on a hard tyre, found himself running alone in seventh place. Despite his efforts, he couldn’t close the gap to Antonelli in sixth. Clearly frustrated, he questioned his engineer about where he was losing time and why he wasn’t being given any information about it.

Alonso and Gasly had slow pit stops, each lasting nearly five seconds. As a result, Gasly dropped all the way down to 18th, even falling behind his teammate Jack Doohan. Tsunoda, however, was likely pleased with the outcome, as it allowed him to finally get ahead of Gasly.

The final laps turned into a tense battle at the front. Norris kept Verstappen under pressure, setting the fastest lap of his race on lap 45. Piastri stayed close behind, showing McLaren had no team orders in place, leaving the Australian frustrated. Verstappen was told to keep his focus as Norris kept chipping away at his lead.

With five laps to go, Verstappen was just over a second ahead of Norris, who was half a second ahead of Piastri. Leclerc had dropped more than ten seconds behind. By the final lap, Verstappen had extended his lead slightly, finishing 1.4 seconds clear. Norris also made a mistake and drove through the grass.

Verstappen crossed the line to win his and Red Bull’s first race of the season. Norris and Piastri completed a double podium for McLaren. Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari, followed by Russell and Antonelli in the two Mercedes cars. Hamilton was seventh, with Hadjar scoring good points in eighth. Albon took ninth for Williams, and Bearman rounded out the top ten for Haas. Tsunoda ended his Red Bull debut in 12th, while Lawson was 17th on his return to Racing Bulls.

2025 Japanese Grand Prix results: