Verstappen beats McLarens in Japanese GP after Norris pit run-in

Max Verstappen held off the McLaren duo in the Japanese Grand Prix for his and Red Bull's first win of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Weather forecasts for Sunday from earlier in the weekend had hinted at a potential repeat of the dry-wet season opener in Australia, but after dampening the track in the lead-up rain stayed away - turning the grand prix into a conventional, largely processional one-stop race for 19 of the 20 drivers.

In what was a largely static first lap all throughout the field, Verstappen covered off Norris right away off the line and consolidated the lead - which he quickly eked out into a solid buffer.

It hovered around two seconds for much of that first stint, with Piastri closer to Norris than Norris to Verstappen, but the championship leader did attempt to put some pressure on Verstappen later on, pushing closer up as McLaren made a bluff pitstop call on lap 18.

But George Russell pitting out of fifth the following lap meant the real strategies had to play out then and there, with Piastri stopping to cover off the Mercedes' potential undercut - which meant both Verstappen and Norris were called in the next lap.

The pitstop flashpoint

Verstappen's victory bid nearly went begging then and there - as his tyre change was a second slower than Norris', timed at 3.3s versus 2.3s by McLaren.

It meant Norris drew alongside as he darted out of McLaren's pitbox at the end of pitlane, though Verstappen's front wheels remained well ahead - and as they arrived at pitlane exit, Norris refused to back out and went skipping over the grass towards Turn 1.