A spring day under cherry blossoms - Japan Grand Prix 2025

Esther Kienapfel
Apr 6
2 min read

This years Suzuka Grand Prix felt exactly like a spring day under cherry blossom trees. It was a constant, well done race with some small, warm wins.

On this Sunday afternoon Verstappen lead the race from the start to the finish line.

He began well, had a great start with a small fight against Norris, but managed to gain a few seconds of advantage. He held that gap over the next laps in spite of a small problems with his upshifts, which were fixed quickly. He finished grandly, with warm words from his engineers welcoming him and ecstatic faces all around.

Norris who followed him in second also drove a great race. Despite of being right between Verstappen and his teammate Piastri he kept a cool head and managed his tyres well.

Verstappen and Norris pitted for hard tyres in lap 22. Both of their pit stops aligned perfectly causing a little fight in the exit of the books with Norris trying to overtake him. He ended up driving into the grass and had to line up behind Verstappen.

Piastri was the third podium sitter. He drove a great pace, often very close to Norris, showing his speed and ability.

He wad followed by Leclerc in 4th and by Russell in 5th.

Kimi Antonelli, who started and ended in 6th place, is one of, if not the most memorable driver today. Not only did he manage his tyres incredibly well, driving on mediums for 30 laps, but also leading the race for a few. He is the youngest ever formula one driver to lead a race, a very memorable achievement. After pitting for hard tyres 20 laps before the end he also almost completely closed the gap to his teammate Russell and managed to secure the fastest lap.

Antonelli was followed by Hamilton on 7 and Hadjar on 8, who, called a super rookie by Sky reporters, also drove a great and constant race. After Hadjar was Albon on 9, followed by Bearman in 10.

Also worth mentioning is Tsunoda who drove his first race with red bull at his home track. He started in p14 and finished in p12. One can say today was a good race for him.

Today‘s race was the first one of a triple header. Next week we‘ll continue on in Bahrain, excited for new action and how especially Red Bull‘s car will behave.