Formula 1 hits the legendary Suzuka circuit for round three of 2025 this weekend. And after a week away, this weekend could really show us the pecking order for the coming weeks.
Here are storylines that should be at the top of your mind this weekend.
Yuki vs. Liam vs. Max
Step right up, it's another driver's time to show they are a worthy teammate for Max Verstappen.
Yuki Tsunoda takes Liam Lawson's seat after he was demoted after just two weekends. Lawson gets moved back to Red Bull's B team, Racing Bulls.
While Tsunoda will be aiming to stay in shouting distance of the quadruple world champ, it might be smart to just focus on qualifying better than 18th (Lawson's best effort) and getting a point or two (Lawson didn't come close).
Meanwhile, Lawson has a lot less pressure on his shoulders, but he surely wants to prove it wasn't all his fault that he drove so poorly at Red Bull. The craziest thing is, Lawson could very well outperform Tsunoda: The Red Bull is not fun to drive, and maybe even worse to get into than the Racing Bulls car!
So how good is McLaren, actually?
It's not a secret that McLaren has the best car. But how much of an advantage do they have? A massive one, or one that will let Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes have a chance to win from time to time?
The small sample size, combined with a rain-affected opener in Australia, have made it hard to gauge just how far ahead the papaya team is. The upcoming triple-header will definitely make it pretty clear.
But China provided some insight -- race winner Oscar Piastri put 11 seconds between him and top non-McLaren finisher George Russell by the checkered flag. It certainly doesn't look good if you want a fifth title for Verstappen, an eighth Lewis Hamilton championship or a first world triumph for the likes of drivers like Charles Leclerc or George Russell.
Norris made some bold claims this week, basically saying McLaren's car isn't that good, they're just the only team with a truly good 1-2. That's a stretch, especially for a team that nearly had a double DNF in Melbourne.
Can Sainz emerge for Williams?
Williams has shown promise this season from day one. It started with quick times in testing, then a double Q3 appearance in Australia.
Alex Albon finished P5 in Melbourne, an incredible start for the team that was easily dead last just a few years ago. Then Albon got into Q3 again in China and the Thai driver finished seventh.
Albon sits sixth in the championship with 16 points thus far. His teammate is still waiting for anything worth a highlight so far.
Sainz crashed out of the Australian GP on lap one under safety car conditions. He finished 13th on the road in China, but captured his lone point so far thanks to a triple DQ ahead of him.
Sainz isn't sounding worried, but has admitted that he is still adjusting in his transition from Ferrari to Williams.
Ferrari needs a bounce back
Yeah, Hamilton got a cool highlight with his sprint win in China, and that's nice.
But realistically, sprints are not particularly remembered in the grand scheme of a season, and of course only give out one-third of the points. And outside of that win, Ferrari has had a brutal start.
Poor strategy put them 8th and 10th in Australia and then they were hit with a brutal double disqualification in China after what looked like a P5-6 finish.
But now Hamilton and Leclerc sit 9th and 10th on points, 35 and 36 points back of Lando Norris. They're tied with Williams in the constructor's championship.
Ferrari has some promise to battle for more wins and podiums, but they've dug themselves an early hole to catch up with Mercedes and maybe even Ferrari.
Bonus: Can Fernando finish a race?
Two years ago, Fernando Alonso was stacking up podiums.
Now, Aston Martin is a long ways off of 2023, and Alonso has two DNFs in two tries. Even Lance Stroll has happened into 10 points (to be fair, he did a good job in Australia!).
Alonso is just looking to reach the finish line in Japan. He might be having flashbacks to his time at McLaren if he keeps having to exit the car early.