1 week Ago
Max Verstappen fended off Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to claim his first victory of the 2025 Formula 1 season in a tense finish to the Japanese Grand Prix. Pole-sitter Verstappen beat Norris by just 1.4 seconds for his fourth straight Suzuka win, with Piastri just seven tenths behind his McLaren team-mate in third place.
The key moment of the race came on Lap 22 when Verstappen and Norris pitted together, and the pair exited the pit lane almost side by side, with Norris going onto the grass. Norris claimed he was "forced off" but the stewards quickly decided not to investigate the incident after noting it, suggesting the McLaren driver should have backed off as Verstappen had his car ahead. From there, Verstappen managed his tyres perfectly despite several efforts from Norris and Piastri as they pushed hard but never got within DRS range of the reigning world champion.
The top three in Suzuka now have a race win each in 2025 but Norris leads the Drivers' Championship by a solitary point from Verstappen and Piastri is 13 points back ahead of next weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The top six finished as they started with Charles Leclerc in a lonely fourth, George Russell in fifth and Kimi Antonelli, who led his first laps of an F1 race, in sixth. Also See: F1 in 2025: The full race schedule Stream every F1 race with NOW Listen to The F1 Show podcast Japanese GP Result Lewis Hamilton overtook Racing Bull's Isack Hadjar early on to take seventh place from the rookie driver, with Williams' Alex Albon in ninth and Haas' Oliver Bearman in 10th.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Japanese GP Result: Top 10 1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull 2) Lando Norris, McLaren 3) Oscar Piastri, McLaren 4) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari 5) George Russell, Mercedes 6) Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes 7) Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari 8) Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls 9) Alex Albon, Williams 10) Oliver Bearman, Haas More to follow...
Formula 1 continues its triple-header in Sakhir for the Bahrain Grand Prix next weekend on April 11-13, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - No contract, cancel anytime.
