Following a whirlwind double-header to commence the 2025 campaign, Formula 1 returned in the Land of the Rising Sun with a less fraught Japanese Grand Prix.
An understated race saw a Red Bull debut, a classic circuit tamed by F1’s new guard of rookies, and the reigning F1 champion proving he is the best in the business.
McLaren has the best car, but Red Bull has the best driver
There is no doubt that Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are more than capable of winning the F1 Drivers’ Championship this season, not just because of the exceedingly fast McLaren underneath them, but because they have the talent necessary to take them to the ultimate prize.
However, there is still one man who, for everyone else, must surely feel like an elephant in the room, or rather, an elephant on the grid.
Red Bull’s RB21 has been the subject of discussion ever since pre-season showed that it is not the best car this year by some margin, which means that if anyone was in doubt about Max Verstappen’s true pace when not in the fastest machinery, that doubt must now be eradicated.
It’s true that the Red Bull was more suited to Suzuka than both Albert Park and Shanghai, but it still needed someone to step up and wrestle it to the front, which is just what Verstappen managed.
Taking a sensational pole position on Saturday, the Dutchman controlled the race from start to finish to see off Norris and Piastri to take his first win of the season.
It’s a stark reminder for the Brit and the Aussie that they must not rely on their car’s advantage to get the job done – they must also be aware that Verstappen, in the right conditions, is always a threat, and they must be on top of their game all the time.
Did McLaren lose out to Verstappen by playing it safe on strategy?
One aspect that benefited Verstappen in addition to his superb performance was McLaren adopting a conservative mindset when it came to decisions on the pit wall.
Rather than gamble on pitting either earlier or later than Red Bull, McLaren opted to pit Norris on the same lap as Verstappen, all but resigning him to second place.
McLaren boss Andrea Stella later told media including Motorsport Week overcut or undercut on Verstappen would have compromised the squad’s double podium.
Is that ‘play it safe’ approach something that will help the team down the road, or will more risks need to be taken to defeat Verstappen when the going gets tough?
The Prancing Horse won’t gallop until upgrades arrive
Ferrari produced another underwhelming performance, with Charles Leclerc finishing in fourth place, 14 seconds behind Piastri, with Lewis Hamilton two spots back.
The pre-season hope that it would take the challenge to McLaren is dissipating with each passing round, and Leclerc has admitted he extracted the SF-25’s maximum.
Leclerc has suggested that the Italian marque will be reliant on upgrades to be in the lead battle, but he might receive his wish as a new floor is rumoured for Bahrain.
Red Bull’s driver swap vindicated – for now
Yuki Tsunoda had, according to Helmut Marko, been aiming for a podium finish on home soil, but he finished outside the points.
However, unlike Liam Lawson in the two races he drove the RB21, Tsunoda was able to make it into Q2, proving he has, to some extent, been able to tame the beast.
Had Tsunoda advanced into Q3, the chances are a points finish was probable, given the nature of the race and how it panned out.
Although not the result that he was coveting on his maiden Red Bull appearance, there are signs that Red Bull has made the correct call to promote Tsunoda.
Coming of age – the F1 rookies show their worth again
The influx of rookies in F1 this year has already seen some impressive results, but the iconic but fearsome Suzuka venue is a tough circuit to tame.
No bother. Antonelli, Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman all scored points, with the former setting the fastest lap for good measure, becoming the youngest man to do so.
In addition, the Italian also became the youngest-ever driver to lead a Grand Prix.
Hadjar has impressed since his formation lap woe in Australia, and the Red Bull prospect overcame some issues on Saturday to qualify seventh, and finish eighth.
Bearman, the most established on a count of his previous outings last year, took his second consecutive points finish with 10th, further enhancing his own growing reputation.
It’s an overused cliche, but the kids are alright!
Do Pirelli need to take more risks?
The Suzuka circuit’s recent relaying of the asphalt led to a surface that was far less abrasive, meaning that teams were limited to one-stop strategies.
This meant overtaking was down, leading Carlos Sainz to opine that the circuit, often an F1 drivers’ and fans’ favourite, is like “a bit of a new Monaco”.
The harder compounds on offer for the weekend, quite literally, compounded the issue, with George Russell telling media including Motorsport Week: “I think the tyre compounds have just been too hard for resurfacing, and it’s been an easy one-stop both races, and that’s just really taken any fun from the strategy.
“Yeah, I hope we can maybe react as a sport, because it’s, as I said, we all finished where we started, and there just wasn’t enough difference in the tyre degradation.”
When it comes to races with a similar surface later in the year, Pirelli might need to go soft in order to keep viewers tuned in.
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