Max Verstappen ensured the final Japanese Grand Prix of the Red Bull-Honda partnership was a memorable one by converting a surprise pole into a surprise win.
The victory was the Dutch star’s fourth straight at Suzuka Circuit but his first of the year, with McLaren appearing to have the quicker package so far in 2025.
But after McLaren took the first two races of the Formula One season, it was Verstappen’s turn to put the defending constructors’ champions on notice with a superb weekend that left his team and even fellow drivers in awe.
“It was a fun race,” Vertsappen said. “We were pushing quite hard out there.
“You had to keep on fighting it and keep it on the limit.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris finished second, with teammate Oscar Piastri close behind in third to complete the podium.
The win moved Verstappen to 61 points on the season, one point back of Norris. Piastri sits in third with 49 points.
Yuki Tsunoda, making his Red Bull debut, finished back in 12th after a difficult qualifying session a day earlier slotted him 14th on the starting grid.
All eyes were on Tsunoda leading up to his home race, but it was Verstappen who ended up in the spotlight in taking his inconsistent Red Bull to the top step of the podium.
The fact that he managed to have a stellar weekend at the last Japanese Grand Prix before Red Bull and Honda’s pending split at the end of 2025 wasn’t lost on the four-time champion.
“The relationship that we’ve had with Honda has been amazing. I’ve really enjoyed my time with them, how they also work, how professional they are, how dedicated they are. They’ve given me so much,” Verstappen said.
“It did cross my mind while driving as well that it would be insane to win today on their track,” he added. “It maybe gave that extra motivation to try and stay ahead. It’s a proper send-off.”
Overall, the 53 laps around Suzuka gave the fans little in the way of on-track action, with the top six qualifiers finishing in the same order in the race.
Norris’ best chance of getting in front of Verstappen came as both cars pitted on the same lap. The two cars were nearly side by side at the exit of the pit lane until Norris ran out of tarmac and had to cut across the grass to rejoin the race, albeit behind Verstappen.
“It was our one opportunity to try and get a bit closer,” Norris said.
“I wasn’t even trying to race Max, I was just trying to cut the grass,” he joked. “I didn’t even know he was there.”
Overtaking chances are rare around Suzuka’s 18 corners, and after passing the Racing Bulls car of Liam Lawson on the opening lap, Tsunoda spent much of his race following closely behind the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and later the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.
Despite the disappointing result on paper, Tsunoda was mostly upbeat about what he learned over the course of his first weekend in a new car.
“In terms of the progress I’ve had this week, it’s probably more than I expected to be honest. So I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing.”
“In terms of confidence level, it’s completely different compared to what I started with (on Friday).”
It was a frenzied run-up to the race for Tsunoda, who was promoted to the Red Bull seat late last month in a shock driver swap that saw the struggling Lawson move down to Racing Bulls, Red Bull’s junior team.
The move after only two rounds of the 2025 season added an extra level of hype for the 266,000 fans who attended the Mie Prefecture track over the course of the weekend. That figure marked the highest tally for a race at Suzuka since 2006, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Tsunoda was a big part of the reason behind the surge.
“This weekend was massive, more than other years,” Tsunoda said when asked about the home support. “Thank you to them. That’s why I felt very frustrated and disappointed not to score points.”
Tsunoda megafan Keiichi Ueyanagi has been following F1 for over a decade and was at Suzuka Circuit when Kamui Kobayashi achieved a surprise podium at the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix.
There’s little doubt in Ueyanagi’s mind that Tsunoda’s move to Red Bull represents a unique opportunity for a Japanese driver.
“This is the first time a Japanese driver has had such a big opportunity, so I’m very excited,” Ueyanagi said before the race.
“I was happy and surprised (about Tsunoda’s promotion), but I also thought that he was finally recognized by the world,” he said. “I believe in his maturity as a driver and as a person.”
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