“Super, Max.”
Welcome back to another edition of Dre’s Race Review, and it’s time to look over a fan favourite race, the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix from the magnificent Suzuka International Circuit. And well… this wasn’t a classic by any stretch, but it was undoubtedly a newsworthy race with plenty worth talking about. Max Verstappen heaps the pressure on a conservative McLaren team and makes them pay. Let’s get into it.
Scared Money Don’t Make None
Hindsight is a powerful and dangerous tool across an F1 weekend. Given what we know about how Suzuka generally operates, it makes it easy to point out where McLaren just got it wrong. For me, it was in two main areas:
Problem #1: Not Taking Pole Position
I’ve been saying since the season started, and the paddock has largely agreed, that McLaren has 2-3 tenths of a second on hand on the rest of the field regarding raw pace, one-lap or over long runs. But both drivers failed to take that advantage in Q3. Lando Norris, who has complained all season long about an MCL39 that doesn’t suit his driving style, couldn’t quite dial in all of his ridiculous pace, and it makes me wonder if McLaren’s blunted its strongest weapon as a result. Remember, Lando had eight pole positions last year and was the sport’s best qualifier via average start position.
Being able to dictate the terms of engagement at Suzuka is everything in terms of trying to win the race. Lando just missed out. If you compare the two laps, it was genuinely fascinating to see the differences in pace. Norris scintillating in Sector 1 through the S’s, Verstappen brilliant at the hairpin and final chicane – the latter braking TWENTY-FIVE metres later into the Casio Triangle, earning him the tenth and a half needed to beat Norris over the line by just 12 thousandths of a second.
It didn’t help that Oscar Piastri, who was purple in Sectors 2 and 3, botched Turn 2 on his final hotlap and was always chasing his tail after that. It cleared the way for Verstappen to take pole position, with maybe the smoothest lap you’ll ever see the problematic RB21 have. His biggest flaw as a driver has been qualifying, and if this is going to be the title-contending year for Piastri, he can’t keep playing the second McLaren in terms of strategy. It became very important later…
Problem #2: Strategic Passiveness
And there’s no getting around it, McLaren likely played the race too safely in terms of strategy. Verstappen got the holeshot he needed off the line, and had enough pace up the front to hold a 1.5-2 second lead. Every time Norris pushed to get closer, Verstappen had enough in hand to hold the gap. For instance, Verstappen at his best was a tenth and a half quicker through the hairpin and the run to Spoon with less downforce on his car. This came into play more on the harder tyre with less grip on the surface, it still wasn’t enough for Norris to even get into DRS range.
This begs the question: Why was McLaren so conservative on strategy? There was evidence that the undercut was effective, so this was begging for a “Box opposite Verstappen” call from the wall. McLaren got a gift in the pits via an extra second (Red Bull’s pit crew has declined from their best), and McLaren couldn’t take advantage due to either a potential unsafe release that wasn’t called, or Lando trying to game the stewards via intentionally driving into the grass on pit exit. Cristiano Ronaldo would have been proud of that gamesmanship.
Think about it, Lando Norris didn’t run a single lap of this race under clean air, and to make matters worse, they DID split strategies, but used the undercut via Piastri’s car, and he was too far back to overtake either car as a result. With the extra second from Max’s pitstop, I think there was scope to have McLaren play the opposite to Max and go for it. Worst-case scenario: You’re back where you started.
Then there’s the other strategic play – Down the stretch, Oscar Piastri was the quicker car. He was able to bridge the gap and get into DRS range, nearly being able to try a pass into Turn 1. Oscar radioed the strategy wall and told them to tell Lando to push because he thought he had the pace to challenge Max. At that point, it was a fair request, and McLaren seemingly ignored him.
There was scope here for McLaren to swap their cars, but they didn’t even entertain that possibility. Did they want to avoid another Hungary 2024 situation? I fear that they can’t trust their drivers. Mercedes, a few years ago, had a Hungary situation of their own when Vettel and Raikkonen were running one and two and third placed Valtteri Bottas was asked to swap to give Hamilton a go at the pair, with the agreement that they’d swap back if Lewis couldn’t do it. All parties trusted each other, and Lewis sportingly gave Bottas his podium back. Don’t get me wrong, Bottas proved to be a wonderful servant to Mercedes, but when you’ve built your team around two Number 1’s, this is the drawback you have. If you’re a McLaren fan reading this, and Lando Norris is asked to do a temporary swap, knowing what we’ve seen from him and them in the last year, do you think he says yes?
From the start of the “Papaya Rules” mentality that McLaren has installed in the team, I’ve seen right through it as papering over cracks, and I fear that in the heat of the battle, it may cost them. Is this arrogance? The belief that maybe they just don’t see Max Verstappen as a long-term threat, Or Arrogance that no other car is close? Because of the evidence of how 2024 played out, I don’t know how you could have that kind of assumption, given how Ferrari and Verstappen drove down the stretch that year. Is it the opposite, just take the points and win the Constructors? That could be a safer, understandable approach, but more questions will be asked about leaving the Driver’s title on the table.
I feel bad here writing because I’ve largely ignored Max Verstappen’s flawless weekend. Superb in Qualifying, even better in the race. His crew did him no favours, and he had to drive a perfect race to shut out the Papaya threat, and he did. It’s why he’s the best driver on the planet today and has been for the last three years. He bullied McLaren into sub-optimal plays and is one point off the Championship lead despite being in arguably the sport’s fourth-best car.
But it’s hard not to point at McLaren and yet more execution issues and think – You may have the best car in F1, but are you the best team? Remember, scared money don’t make none.
The Extended Lightning Round
It might also be time to ask questions about Suzuka as a track. Eloise on Bluesky made an excellent point that given that F1 refuses to get out of its bag in terms of big-ass cars with more downforce than God, that Fuji Speedway with it’s own 1.4km straight, might be a better fit for overtaking given how short Suzuka’s run to Turn 1 is. But when 115,000 roll up on race day for Yuki Tsunoda, it’s hard to move away from a GP that was moved to April in the first place because they want to protect it. (Even if it gave us three grass fires throughout the weekend, yeesh.)
Yuki Tsunoda was really solid in his Red Bull debut… until his Q2 session derailed his weekend. Out too late before the Red Flag to set a banker lap, and then missed the tyre window on his second attempt to be anywhere near quick enough to make Q3. His race pace was solid but being stuck behind Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso in the race meant progress was tricky. Still better than anything Lawson managed in there, mind. He should be stronger in Bahrain next week, but so far so good.
Isack Hadjar with four points in P8, despite an ill-fitting seat across the weekend meant he likely drove with a chaffed bollock. Mightily impressive work, but I hope it was worth it in the long run.
Kimi Antonelli drove a sublime race. Became the youngest man to ever lead an F1 race (Four days younger than Max Verstappen in Spain 2016), and in the back half, he was the fastest man on track with his fresh mediums. Finishing just a second behind George Russell, one of the strongest drivers so far this season, is outstanding for his third GP. This kid is the truth. Throw Ollie Bearman’s point in there for 10th, and the Rookie Class of 2025 is looking strong so far. Pour one out for Bortoleto’s Sauber.
Alex Albon with three straight points finishes for the first time since he was a Red Bull driver in 2020. Seriously impressive start to the season for the Thai driver.
Pirelli, please make some more aggressive compounds man – We all asked for durable tyres that make people plush and it leads to genuine stalemates and I can’t stand it. No Medium tyre in a GP needs to go 60% race distance, man…
Fernando Alonso’s scoreless after three races for the first time since 2017. Yeesh. Better this weekend, though.
I warned you Lewis Hamilton was going to be in for a tough start…
What’s more ridiculous? a €40,000 fine for swearing in a press conference, or a €60,000 fine for missing the National Anthem? Because that’s what Carlos Sainz just copped. (Reduced to 10k on mitigating circumstances, he had stomach cramps on the grid.)
Best wishes to Nina Gademan and Marta Garcia after their awful crashes this weekend in F1 Academy testing and the Le Mans Cup.
The Verdict: 4/10 (Poor) – There was a degree of tension across this race via the lead battle, but it never truly felt like Norris had a shot here, and that was unfortunate, combined with Oscar Piastri stranded in third and the lack of passing anywhere besides the back of the field, mostly via Carlos Sainz off-sequence. Forgettable. See you in Bahrain.
