Max Verstappen fended off Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to claim his first victory of the 2025 Formula 1 season in a tense finish to the Japanese Grand Prix.
Pole-sitter Verstappen beat Norris by just 1.4 seconds for his fourth straight Suzuka win, with Piastri just seven tenths behind his McLaren team-mate in third place.
The key moment of the race came on Lap 22 when Verstappen and Norris pitted together, and the pair exited the pit lane almost side by side, with Norris going onto the grass.
Norris claimed he was “forced off” but the stewards quickly decided not to investigate the incident after noting it, suggesting the McLaren driver should have backed off as Verstappen had his car ahead.
From there, Verstappen managed his tyres perfectly despite several efforts from Norris and Piastri as they pushed hard but never got within DRS range of the reigning world champion.
The top three in Suzuka now have a race win each in 2025 but Norris leads the Drivers’ Championship by a solitary point from Verstappen and Piastri is 13 points back ahead of next weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
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Max Verstappen holds off the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to claim the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka circuit
The top six finished as they started with Charles Leclerc in a lonely fourth, George Russell in fifth and Kimi Antonelli, who led his first laps of an F1 race, in sixth.
Lewis Hamilton overtook Racing Bull’s Isack Hadjar early on to take seventh place from the rookie driver, with Williams’ Alex Albon in ninth and Haas’ Oliver Bearman in 10th.
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Max Verstappen held off Lando Norris on the opening lap in Suzuka
More to follow…
Formula 1 continues its triple-header in Sakhir for the Bahrain Grand Prix next weekend on April 11-13, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime
