Formula 1

Kimi Antonelli became the youngest driver to lead a race in Formula 1 history at the Japanese Grand Prix, rounding off a simultaneously rewarding and demanding weekend for the Mercedes rookie.

Charles Leclerc was left disappointed with the outcome of his Japanese Grand Prix, with the Monegasque admitting that Ferrari have “got to work” on their performance after a maximised race saw him finish in P4 while Lewis Hamilton endured a “lonely” drive to P7.

The drivers and team report back on the action from the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 2. Lando Norris (McLaren), 3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

Oscar Piastri insisted his pace in the Japanese Grand Prix was "mega", despite following Max Verstappen and Lando Norris home in third place, while he also conceded McLaren were "fair" not to intervene in the battle with his team mate.

Yuki Tsunoda finished 12th in the Japanese Grand Prix but was left with “mixed feeling” after hoping for more from his Red Bull debut weekend.

Max Verstappen’s vice-like grip on Suzuka supremacy continued in 2025’s edition of the Japanese Grand Prix, but the World Champion’s fourth successive win here was far from the only fascinating fact to emerge after a tense 53 laps.

Max Verstappen was left “incredibly happy” after taking victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, with the World Champion bouncing back from a tough start to the weekend – as well as facing a close call with Lando Norris at the pit exit during the race – to claim a fourth consecutive win at the Suzuka Circuit.

After starting the Japanese Grand Prix on the front row, Lando Norris found himself unable to launch an effective challenge for the race win amid a flawless drive from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, leaving him to rue his Qualifying effort.

Max Verstappen scored a comfortable first win of the 2025 Formula 1 season at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Yuki Tsunoda's maiden weekend with Red Bull proved to be a tough one, but there was no doubting that his long-awaited promotion from Racing Bulls was a popular one among fans.

Max Verstappen has scored his first victory of the 2025 season with a masterful drive to P1 in the Japanese Grand Prix, the World Champion holding off the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to claim a fourth consecutive win at the Suzuka Circuit.

Max Verstappen masterfully clung onto the race lead on the opening lap at Suzuka Circuit, despite a strong challenge from championship leader Lando Norris.

Max Verstappen loves Suzuka, as shown by his superb pole lap for Red Bull. The question now is will he be able to stay ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri when the lights go out in Japan.

Live coverage of Sunday's Formula 1 Lenovo Japanese Grand Prix 2025 at Suzuka.

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner lauded Max Verstappen’s pole lap at Suzuka as "one of his best laps in Qualifying ever".

The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli may have qualified next to each other in P5 and P6 at Suzuka, but their respective reactions differed greatly as the Briton was left questioning what could have been.

There were mixed feelings at Ferrari after Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton not satisfied with his final result of P8 while Charles Leclerc felt he had maximised his car’s potential in P4, despite adding that the team are “lacking overall performance”.

Isack Hadjar had a rollercoaster Qualifying hour at Suzuka Circuit as a saga of problems in the cockpit saw him scrape into Q2 before he delivered a flying lap to secure an impressive P7 ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.