The race got underway in slightly damp conditions following rainfall earlier in the day. Lewis Hamilton, Gabriel Bortoleto and Esteban Ocon opted for hard tyres, while Jack Doohan and Lance Stroll went with softs. The rest of the grid started on medium tyres.
Starting from pole, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen maintained his lead off the line. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli locked up going into Turn 2, cutting the chicane and briefly going off track.
Verstappen reported gear upshifting issues over the radio, though the problem resolved a few laps later. Williams driver Alex Albon also reported similar issues with upshifting.
On Lap 18, McLaren called Lando Norris in for an early pit stop in a bid to undercut Verstappen. However, the stop didn’t go ahead, and a lap later the team instructed Norris to maintain his current pace.
Carlos Sainz was noted by the stewards for possibly gaining an advantage by going off track, though no investigation was launched.
By Lap 20, pit stops had begun, with George Russell the first from the top ten to dive into the pits, followed by Oscar Piastri. On Lap 22, Verstappen and Norris pitted simultaneously. The two nearly made contact at the end of the pit lane, with Norris going through the grass. The incident was noted by the stewards, but again no investigation followed.
With others pitting, Antonelli briefly inherited the race lead, while Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton slotted into second. He later switched to medium tyres on Lap 31, rejoining in seventh. Once Antonelli made his stop, Verstappen reclaimed the lead.
On Lap 33, Haas issued team orders for their drivers to swap positions, with Esteban Ocon handing 12th place to Oliver Bearman.
With 10 laps to go, Oscar Piastri asked the team if he could overtake teammate Lando Norris to attempt a challenge on Verstappen. However, McLaren chose not to act on the request.
In what was a relatively incident-free race, reigning champion Max Verstappen took his first win of the season.
Lando Norris finished second, just 1.1 seconds behind, while fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri completed the podium in third.
Charles Leclerc came home fourth, with the Mercedes duo finishing fifth and sixth.
Lewis Hamilton was seventh, Isack Hadjar eighth, and Alex Albon secured ninth. The final point went to Haas’ Oliver Bearman.
2025 Japanese GP – Race Results
- Max Verstappen – Red Bull Racing
- Lando Norris – McLaren Racing
- Oscar Piastri – McLaren Racing
- Charles Leclerc – Scuderia Ferrari
- George Russell – Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
- Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
- Lewis Hamilton – Scuderia Ferrari
- Isack Hadjar – RB F1 Team
- Alex Albon – Williams Racing
- Oliver Bearman – Haas F1 Team
📺 Watch the race highlights here.
