PRIXVIEW – Japanese Grand Prix

Round three of the season concludes the Asia leg before the spring break with a trip to one of the most iconic circuits in the world, Suzuka, for the Japanese Grand Prix. Suzuka is one of the most challenging circuits of the season, a high-speed 3.6-mile figure of eight circuit. The circuit is old school, lined by grass and gravel, which means the drivers need to balance risk and rewards.

Suzuka should give us another piece in the jigsaw. I think we are building in these opening races, as it’s a more technical circuit where downforce is more important for the majority of the lap than straight-line speed. Overtaking can be more difficult given the twisty and high-speed nature, but that can lead to some brilliant moments in terms of overtaking and strategy.

It’s similar to Zandvoort, which was also designed by Hans Hugenholtz. It shares many of the same characteristics: a mix of high-speed straight, fast sweeping corners and more technical sections. The old-school circuit owned by Honda was originally designed as a test track, with only one slow corner; without the Casio chicane, some cars would go through the final long right-hand corner flat out and then would go past the pits at more than 200 mph (320 km/h).

The circuit is one which drivers love as it’s an old-school circuit which punishes mistakes and where there is difficulty through the twisting corners for drivers to overtake. It’s a tricky circuit which requires drivers who can attack the circuit and push themselves to the limits. However, mistakes are costly as the barriers are close and not as many run-off areas as in modern circuits.

Suzuka is one of the most demanding circuits for drivers both physically and mentally, as there is a huge strain on their bodies by the high forces through the fast-flowing corners in the first half of the lap and the flat-out effective straights between Spoon Curve (Turn Fourteen) and Turn One, only broken by the Casio/Hitachi Chanice (Turn Sixteen-Seventeen) coupled with the grass and gravel run-off areas meaning there is little room for error.

This means that some flexibility is needed with strategy, also mistakes can happen and that can lead to safety cars, red flags etc as we don’t have the huge tarmac runoff and the grass and gravel. But at the same time, this is a circuit that has huge rewards if you get it right on the limit from lap time.

Drivers love the challenge of Suzuka as it’s a good all-round test of cars and drivers physically and mentally, early in the season, that’s only increased as they aren’t as fit as they would be in September or October, when it used to be held.  It’s a tricky circuit which requires drivers who can attack the circuit and push themselves to the limits. However, mistakes are costly as the barriers are close and not as many run-off areas as in modern circuits.

This means that some flexibility is needed with strategy; also mistakes can happen and that can lead to safety cars, red flags, etc., as we don’t have the huge tarmac runoff and the grass and gravel. But at the same time, this is a circuit that has huge rewards if you get it right on the limit from lap time.

The first world championship Grand Prix was the climax to one of the most dramatic and controversial seasons in the sport’s history. Jame Hunt up against the then two-time champion Niki Lauda. Mario Andretti took pole position in the Lotus 77, with Hunt alongside him on the front row and Lauda third.

The conditions were bad fog and heavy rain; it would be unlikely that a race would be started in these conditions today. Lauda withdrew on the formation lap, having survived a near-fatal crash at the Nürburgring earlier in the season, the Austrian would later say, “my life is worth more than a title.” Hunt took the lead in the early phases but lost position as the circuit dried out, dropping to fifth, out of position to take the title but in the final two laps overtook Clay Regazzoni and Alan Jones to secure third. That was enough to take the title by a point

Hunt returned the next year to win the second Grand Prix, but a collision between Gilles Villeneuve and Ronnie Peterson during the race saw Villeneuve’s Ferrari somersault into a restricted area, killing two spectators

Suzuka has been home to the Grand Prix since 1987, except for four years 2007-08, when it was held at Fuji while the circuit was redeveloped and 2020-21, when it was cancelled due to Covid. That followed a two year delay as work to modernise Suzuka over ran.

Since its debut, the sports-only figure-of-eight circuit has become popular with fans and drivers, starting with the defining feud between McLaren teammates Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. The height of the rivalry was the 1990 title decider, Senna felt that pole was on the dirty side, he didn’t yield and move over for the Frenchman with them both crashing out at Turn One. That gave him his second title by default.

That followed on from a crash the previous season at the final chicane, which handed Prost the title. Senna was off the racing line, and it would be more difficult for him to make a better start. Frustrated and angry, Senna mimicked Prost’s statement of the previous year, saying he would not move over if Prost attempted to overtake in the first corner.

Suzuka has always tended to favour the most dominant constructors baring freak accident, driver mistakes can knock confidence as this is a circuit which rewards speed and cornering but also drivers who can attack and are brave enough to for the overtake.

The beginning of the 2000s saw dominance by Schumacher and Ferrari, the German winning four out of five races. But 2003 was probably the most challenging, given the difficulties overtaking. Schumacher needed to come at least eighth; he started at fourteenth on the grid but managed to secure the point he needed to take his sixth World Drivers’ Championship, beating the record held by Juan Manuel Fangio. His race also nearly ended in a collision with Takuma Sato and his brother Ralf.

2004 saw the first of three qualifying sessions at Suzuka run on Sunday due to bad weather, but it was another race where Schumacher took victory in his all-conquering Ferrari.

2007 and 2008 saw the race briefly return to Fuji. Lewis Hamilton took victory in torrential rain after Alonso crashed out, allowing Heikki Kovalainen to finish second ahead of Raikkonen, the first time that two Finnish drivers were together on the podium. In 2008, the first corner brought trouble for both the title-contending McLarens and Ferraris, and Alonso was able to take the victory in a Renault. Hamilton finished out the points while title rival Felipe Massa only finished seventh.

A planned alternation with Suzuka was abandoned in 2009, with Suzuka remaining the home of the race except in 2020 and 2021. Sebastian Vettel took his second title with third in 2011, with Jenson Button (the only driver in the field who had a theoretical chance of beating Vettel to the title) winning the race wearing a special tribute helmet to the people affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and the Fukushima disaster.

Kamui Kobayashi finished third the following year, holding off Button and became the first Japanese driver to finish on the podium in Suzuka since Aguri Suzuki in 1990. The 2013 race was won by Vettel for Red Bull, marking his fourth consecutive victory of the season as well as his fourth victory overall at Suzuka.

2014 saw the beginning of Mercedes dominating this race up until the Covid hiatus, but that year’s race has been overshadowed by the fatal accident of Jules Bianchi, in the closing stage, Adrian Sutil spun off at Dunlop, as the crane came to recover the Sauber.

However, Bianchi also spun in the same place and crashed into the crane, the race was then abandoned, and the Frenchman died the following July, the first driver to be killed since Roland Ratzenberger and Senna at Imola in 1994. While the race was then abandoned on lap forty-four, with Hamilton taking his first win at Suzuka.

The Englishman won again after overtaking teammate Nico Rosberg’s deficit in the Drivers’ Championship, therefore increasing to forty-eight points. Sebastian Vettel finished third for Ferrari.

Similar anger and controversy followed in 2022, when, in similar conditions to 2014, the FIA dispatched a recovery vehicle while the race was under double yellow flag conditions, which meant that the vehicle was on the track at the same time as the cars themselves.

Bianchi’s compatriot, Pierre Gasly, narrowly avoided crashing into a crane under double yellow flag conditions, which meant that the vehicle was on the track at the same time as the Formula One cars themselves. Drivers and team bosses united to call the decision from race control “unacceptable”. Following the red flag several drivers took to Twitter/X condemning the situation.

This race also saw some confusion about the awarding of points; it was widely believed that championship leader Max Verstappen would earn half points (19 instead of 25) because less than 75% of the scheduled race distance was completed, which would mean he was one point short of claiming the championship. However, full points were awarded instead and Verstappen became the 2022 Formula One World Champion; he himself showed surprise when he found out that full points were awarded

2018 saw Hamilton take his fifth win for Mercedes ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas, who fended off Verstappen, to hang onto third. Vettel blamed his spin on Verstappen, stating that he had not been left “enough room”. Verstappen put the blame on Vettel, claiming that the Spoon curve, where the incident occurred, is not a spot to overtake. He claimed that Vettel “understeered into” him.

Verstappen also expressed his disappointment with the five-second penalty he incurred for his rejoining incident with Raikkonen, stating that he rejoined the track “in a safe way”.

The race took a hiatus in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid. In 2023, Verstappen took victory again, a dominant win from the pole, holding off both McLarens at the start before building a twenty-second lead over Lando Norris and putting himself in the position to win the championship in the sprint in Doha when he finished third.

It was another dominant victory in 2024 for the Dutchman, beating teammate Perez by twelve seconds. Despite the red flags, he converted both poles into a lead at Turn One where he was able to control the race dominated by differing tyre strategies through the top ten, his third win in three years at Suzuka.

Sainz finished third, twenty-one seconds behind Verstappen, as he finished on the podium for the fourth time this season.

Race & Circuit Guide

Round		03 of 22
Race		Formula 1 Aramco Japanese Grand Prix 2026
Venue		Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Configuration		2003 Grand Prix
Circuit Length		5.807 km (3.608 mi)
Laps		53
Race Distance		307.471 km (191.053 mi)
Lap Record	Race	01:30.983 (Sir Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W10, 2019, F1)
	Outright	01:26.983 (Max Verstappen, Red Bull – Honda RBPT, 2025)
Previous Current Winners		Lewis Hamilton (5) Max Verstappen (4) Fernando Alonso (2) Valtteri Bottas (1)
Most wins drivers		Michael Schumacher (6)
Most wins manufacture		McLaren (9)

Fast facts

• Suzuka is the only circuit on the Formula 1 calendar designed in a figure-of-eight layout, featuring a bridge crossover.
• The circuit was commissioned by Soichiro Honda in the late 1950s and designed by Dutchman John Hugenholtz, serving as a test track for the company before hosting F1 in 1987.

• Red Bull are the most successful team at Suzuka, with Max Verstappen recording their eighth victory at the circuit in 2025.
• Despite taking five victories in a row between 2000 and 2004, the 2004 Japanese Grand Prix remains Ferrari’s last win
• The 2000, 2009, 2018 and 2025 Japanese Grands Prix are the only races at Suzuka in which the top three finished in the same order as they started.

Event timetable

Session	Local (JST)	UK (GMT / BST)
Friday
P1	11:30-12:30	02:30-03:30
P2	15:00-16:00	06:00-07:00
Saturday
P3	11:30-12:30	02:30-03:30
Qualifying	15:00-16:00	06:00-07:00
Sunday Clocks go forward one hour in the UK and Europe
Race	14:00	06:00

What happened in 2025?

FP1 saw Lando Norris set 28.549 going just over a tenth and a half a head of George Russell. But it wasn’t all easy for the championship leader as he sounded agitated with the tyres and graining. Charles Leclerc denied a British top three going a quarter of a second behind Russell and nine hundredths ahead of Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton.

FP2 was topped by Oscar Piastri, who led a McLaren one-two setting a 28.114 just under half a tenth faster than teammate Lando Norris. The second session was irrupted by four red flags but that didn’t stop the two McLaren’s from leading the way with Isack Hadjar putting his Racing Bull three and a half tenth behind Norris. Lewis Hamilton was their nearest real rival, the Ferrari driver going fourth four-tenths off the pace set by Piastri.

FP3 saw Norris topping the times with a 27.965 going a quarter of a second faster than teammate Piastri. George Russell put his Mercedes third as several drivers had off moments, but the session passed without any major dramas. Leclerc and Hamilton put their Ferraris in fourth and sixth, respectively, while sandwiched between them was Max Verstappen

Qualifying saw Verstappen take a surprise pole position pipping both McLarens on his final attempt with a 26.983, going just two thousandths ahead of Norris. Red Bull has looked so far this season to be on the back foot, but pulled it out the bag to set a new track record and take his fourth successive pole at Suzuka. Norris put himself just over a hundredth faster than his McLaren teammate Piastri; they looked to be the main rivals for pole with the Australian having the advantage on his first run in Q3. The top three being separated by less than half a tenth.

Verstappen held off both McLarens to take his first win of the season by almost a second and a half. The four-time champion made a great start, pulling away in the early phases of the race and fended off Lando Norris when they both pitted on lap twenty-two. while Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri was just seven-tenths behind.

Charles Leclerc finished fourth, he was thirteen seconds behind Piastri as the two Mercedes put themselves between the two Ferraris, despite looking strong early on the Monacan was unable to maintain the early pressure throughout the race on the McLaren’s.

Pole Position				Max Verstappen Red Bull – Honda RBPT 01:26.981
Podium
Po	Name	Nat	Team		Time	Points
1	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull – Honda RBPT		01:22:06.983	25
2	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren – Mercedes		+00:01.423	18
3	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren – Mercedes		+00:02.129	15
Fastest Lap	Andrea Kimi Antonelli	ITA	Mercedes		01:30.965	1

Championship Standings

	Drivers’ Championship		Constructors Championship
Po	Name	Points	Constructor	Points
1	George Russell	51	Mercedes	98
2	Andrea ‘Kimi’ Antonelli	47	Ferrari	67
3	Charles Leclerc	34	McLaren – Mercedes	18
4	Lewis Hamilton	33	Haas – Ferrari	17
5	Oliver Bearman	17	Red Bull – Ford RBPT	12

What to watch for?

This weekend sees the final race before the unplanned spring break, and it’s going to be an important one in setting the development path, as it’s the first proper weekend at a more permanent circuit since testing in Sakhir last month. But Suzuka is nowhere near any other circuit, as this is a big test for drivers, cars and teams.

Suzuka is a high-speed roller-coaster which is technically, mentally and physically demanding for drivers and teams, who will need to build themselves into the weekend as confidence is key. The circuit needs the drivers to be on the limit, but beware that making mistakes can be costly, both in terms of damage and confidence. So, teams need to bear this in mind when it comes to strategy in both qualifying and the Grand Prix.

Mercedes will again go into this weekend as favourites having dominated the first two races, but this is a very different circuit to the opening two races and where we have been testing, as it’s much more technical to the more high-speed circuits in Barcelona, Sakhir, Melbourne and Shanghai. Also, conditions are likely to still be cooler weather, that’s where they could be vulnerable, but we don’t know.

Though this is early in the season, we don’t know if this will be a twenty-round or twenty-four-round season. Also, Kimi Antonelli’s breakthrough win in Shanghai given him a confidence boost. As we know, Mercedes see him as the next Max Verstappen, a title challenge could develop

Ferrari still looks to be the closest rival, but they still don’t have enough pace to challenge Mercedes. The uniqueness of Suzuka could present opportunities for them because overtaking can be challenging, which is going to test the teams and drivers throughout. It could also create a lot of close racing on track, but there are risks this weekend.

Haas looks to be the biggest surprise this season and this is one of their home races as their title partner is Toyota, they will want to carry on their strong points haul from the opening two weekends. Ollie Bearman, I think, is already showing that next step I feel a driver needs in their second season; he is outscoring Esteban Ocon, there is pressure already coming.

We are still early on in this season, and there could be a lot to learn going into the unplanned five-week break, teams will want to learn as much as they can. These cars will probably look very different in Miami.

2024 vs 2025 Race Data

	P1 Fastest	P2 Fastest	P3 Fastest	Q1 Fastest	Q2 Fastest	Q3 Fastest	Race Time	Fastest Lap
2025	01:28.549	01:28.114	01:27.965	01:27.687	01:27.147	01:26.983	01:22:06.983	01:30.965
Diff	-01.507	-06.611	-01.598	-01.179	-01.593	-01.214	-32:23.423	-02.741
2024	01:30.056	01:34.725	01:29.563	01:28.866	01:28.740	01:28.197	01:54:23.566	01:33.706

2025 Lap time comparison

FP1

FP2

FP3

Q1

Q2

Q3

Race

Team

Fastest Time

Gap

Fastest Time

Gap

Fastest Time

Gap

Fastest Time

Gap

Fastest Time

Gap

Fastest Time

Gap

Race. Time

Gap

Inter

Mercedes

01:29.294

+00.735

01:28.567

+00.453

01:28.077

+00.112

01:27.843

+00.156

01:27.400

+00.254

01:27.318

+00.335

01:22:24.080

+00:16.097

+00:13.968

Red Bull

01:29.065

+00.515

01:28.670

+00.556

01:28.497

+00.532

01:27.943

+00.256

01:27.502

+00.356

01:26.983

+00.000

01:22:06.983

+00:00.000

+00:00.000

Ferrari

01:28.965

+00.476

01:28.544

+00.430

01:25.414

+00.449

01:27.920

+00.233

01:27.555

+00.409

01:27.299

+00.246

01:22:23.080

+00:16.097

+00:13.968

McLaren

01:28.549

+00.000

01:28.114

+00.000

01:27.965

+00.000

01:27.687

+00.000

01:27.146

+00.000

01:26.995

+00.012

01:22:08.406

+00:01.423

+00:01.423

Aston Martin

01:29.222

+00.676

01:29.978

+01.864

01:29.772

+01.807

01:28.337

+00.650

01:27.897

+00.551

N/A

01:23:04.316

+00:57.333

+00:02.804

RB

01:29.225

+00.675

01:28.518

+00.404

01:28.786

+00.821

01:28.278

+00.591

01:27.775

+00.627

01:27.569

+00.586

01:22:44.117

+00:33.134

+00:07.962

Alpine

01:29.394

+00.845

01:28.757

+00.643

01:28.603

+00.638

01:28.186

+00.499

01:27.822

+00.676

N/A

01:23:09.105

+01:02.102

+00:03.721

Haas

01:30.077

+01.528

01:29.507

+01.393

01:30.084

+02.119

01:28.228

+00.541

01:27.711

+00.311

01:27.867

+00.884

01:23:01.512

+00:54.529

+00:14.162

Sauber

01:30.023

+01.474

01:29.062

+00.948

01:30.134

+02.169

01:28.570

+00.883

N/A

N/A

01:23:28.940

+01:21.967

+00:07.195

Williams

01:29.33

+00.784

01:28.832

+00.718

01:28.554

+00.589

01:28.209

+00.522

01:27.783

+00.383

01:27.615

+00.632

01:22:47.350

+00:40.367

+00:03.233

Tyres

White Hard (C1)

Yellow Medium (C2)

Red Soft (C3)