The Japanese Grand Prix may not have been the most exciting this year, but we were treated to a show of sheer brilliance by Max Verstappen, who delivered a perfect weekend at Suzuka.
Once again, we find ourselves in awe after another Verstappen performance that seems alien to the other 19 Formula 1 drivers on the grid who are the "crème de la crème" of motorsport.
Aside from Verstappen and despite several interesting topics, the Japanese Grand Prix this time wasn't that exciting as, aside from Lewis Hamilton, who finished one place ahead of his starting position, the top ten drivers finished in the places they qualified as overtaking proved to be impossible with one DRS zone, which required a large delta for the chasing car to be able to launch a proper attack.
So while Verstappen dominated the headlines of the Japanese Grand Prix, let's endeavour to extract takeaways from Formula 1's weekend at Suzuka.
We are truly privileged
I am of the generation that witnessed Michael Schumacher at his peak fighting with the likes of Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, and Mika Häkkinen, all great champions, but I wasn't lucky enough to watch Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian who remains the most intriguing personality in the history of F1—a true legend.
And while our sport was graced by great champions like Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, and Sebastian Vettel, we as fans have been privileged by the arrival of Verstappen.
He showed he was special from the time he jumped into an F1 car, not even 18 years old, and after a few years of polishing his skills and eradicating the errors and crashes he was prone to early on, we are now starting to see the true talent Jos Verstappen raised, and Red Bull's Helmut Marko supported all the way into the top flight.
After his first title in 2021, Verstappen has changed massively, maturing and becoming more calm while continuously improving into as complete a package as can be, and what is puzzling is that he continues to improve.
He stunned the F1 world by winning the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, many claiming he has delivered his best performance ever, but then came his pole lap at Suzuka last weekend. Where did that come from?
Suzuka pole was Senna-esque
Granted, he was just 0.012s ahead of Lando Norris, but the Briton has the best car on the grid under him, while the Red Bull RB21 is arguably the fourth fastest car on the grid. I would venture to say that Max delivered, I don't know, maybe half a second of pace?
This is a feat comparable with Senna's 1988 pole in Monaco when he beat teammate Alain Prost—the Professor—by almost 1.5s.
What made it more impressive is that Red Bull opted for a low downforce on the rear to balance out the car, counting on Verstappen's talent to keep the RB21 on track in the high-speed corners of Sector 1. There was no margin for error, and Max delivered.
He then delivered another faultless 53 laps on race day with two McLarens in his rearview mirrors to take the win, concluding probably the best weekend of his career... up to now, that is.
You could see the body language in the Red Bull garage at Suzuka, and Christian Horner was at a loss trying to find superlatives to hail his star driver, as he knows very well that without Verstappen, the team will be nowhere near contention.
I believe it is a futile argument trying to identify the GOAT in F1, but now I can dare claim that Verstappen is on his way to becoming F1's undisputed GOAT.
McLaren once again fail to realize their potential
McLaren may have been excused in 2024 for the errors they committed in terms of strategy and driver management. We also have to keep in mind that their car didn't start that season as the best. The Red Bull was the fastest, and Verstappen won seven of the opening races in it, which was key for his title triumph despite Norris' midseason charge to deny him.
But in 2025 McLaren's MCL39 is the best car on the grid, but Norris is just one point ahead of Verstappen in the F1 drivers' championship with three races behind us, and while McLaren are 50 points ahead of Red Bull, we have to keep in mind that the Milton Keynes squad is a one-car team until further notice.
Both Norris and Piastri have shoulder some blame for their driving errors so far. It is not acceptable for two drivers, tipped to become future champions, to throw pole away at Suzuka since, while Verstappen was brilliant, both McLaren drivers delivered clumsy laps.
And then in the race, McLaren did nothing to put pressure on Verstappen despite having two of their drivers against him.
Why McLaren pitted Norris on the same lap with Verstappen defies logic. The team was telling the Briton that his pace was great, so why not go longer and attempt an overcut? Why not attempt an undercut? Just do something!
An expensive lawnmower
After all, there was no threat from the fourth position and beyond. McLaren could take risks. They did not even allow Piastri past Norris to try and put some pressure on Verstappen. The Aussie wouldn't have passed, but at least the team would've tried something.
And then we had Norris' pathetic attempt at passing Verstappen at the pitlane exit... Really? And he even had the audacity to go on the radio and claim he was pushed over…
In what world did he think that move was on? And mind you, Max was nice; he gave him space...
But Norris drove straight onto the grass, turning his grid-leading car into what Max jokingly labelled an "expensive lawnmower" while chatting to the McLaren drivers in the cool-down room after the race.
But what is more worrying about McLaren is that they seemed satisfied with the result. Lando was even happy after Verstappen snatched pole from under his nose on Saturday! At least pretend to be upset!
McLaren and their drivers should make the best out of the early races this season to build a buffer before Red Bull catch up; this is what Verstappen did in 2024. But they aren't doing that now.
Verstappen said no one would've seen him had he been driving the McLaren at Suzuka... The mind games are on. McLaren and both their drivers should take note and realize who they are up against.
Japanese Grand Prix Quick Hits
- Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda/Liam Lawson swap has been inconclusive so far. While Tsunoda was not as disastrous as Lawson, he was outqualified by him and finished the race 12th, one minute behind Verstappen. He stayed out of the wall as Red Bull gave him a friendlier setup... A slow one that is...
As for Lawson, his race was disappointing despite a decent qualifying, but Racing Bulls bad strategy played a role in that. However, Isack Hadjar made Q3 while subjecting his private parts to excessive G-forces.
But let's give this switch some time and see how it turns out. - Has anyone seen Ferrari during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend? Such an anonymous race for the Scuderia and its drivers.
- Suzuka is a driver's circuit, and last weekend we found out the true mettle of some of the upcoming drivers as well as established ones.
Hadjar, Ollie Bearman, and Kimi Antonelli all made Q3 in qualifying. Kudos.
Alex Albon was impressive as well, while Carlos Sainz is apparently re-learning how to drive an F1 car. - Not a good weekend for Esteban Ocon, the driver Bearman is supposed to learn from... Nothing to see here, Ollie...
- It was great to see Jack Doohan walk away from that horrible 50G crash in practice. He made a mistake by keeping the DRS open, but Alpine confirmed their simulator allowed the driver to keep the DRS open into the flat-out Turn 1. Do they think their A525 is the McLaren MCL39?
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