McLaren was within striking distance every single lap of the Japanese Grand Prix, but in the end they couldn't get close enough to stop Max Verstappen's fourth-straight win at Suzuka.
It wasn't quite a thrilling Japan GP, with not much overtaking for points. It seemed like Lando Norris had a chance to win, but a circuit with only one DRS zone and few overtaking opportunities meant the effort was all for nothing.
Verstappen now just needs to outscore Norris in any way next week in Bahrain to take the drivers' championship lead.
Elsewhere, Charles Leclerc comfortably took fourth, and George Russell beat his teammate Kimi Antonelli for 5th and 6th after the Italian stayed out much longer and hunted him down in the closing laps. Lewis Hamilton made one of the rare overtakes for points on Isack Hadjar, but the Racing Bulls driver impressed, grabbing 8th spot.
Alex Albon and Ollie Bearman also continued to post laudable results for Williams and Haas to round out the top 10.
Yuki Tsunoda's Red Bull debut was spent struggling outside the points, and Liam Lawson finished worst of the four Red Bull drivers.
F1 Japanese Grand Prix results
There were no yellow flags, safety cars of DNFs, with the closest we saw to any issues being when Norris tried to go side-by-side out of the pits with Verstappen, and hit the grass.
Position | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
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 | Ollie Bearman | Haas |
11 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin |
12 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull |
13 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine |
14 | Jack Doohan | Alpine |
15 | Carlos Sainz | Williams |
16 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber |
17 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls |
18 | Esteban Ocon | Haas |
19 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber |
20 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |
Driver Standings
Position | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
1 | Lando Norris | 62 |
2 | Max Verstappen | 61 |
3 | Oscar Piastri | 49 |
4 | George Russell | 45 |
5 | Kimi Antonelli | 30 |
6 | Charles Leclerc | 20 |
7 | Alex Albon | 18 |
8 | Lewis Hamilton | 15 |
9 | Esteban Ocon | 10 |
10 | Lance Stroll | 10 |
11 | Nico Hulkenberg | 6 |
12 | Ollie Bearman | 5 |
13 | Isack Hadjar | 4 |
14 | Yuki Tsunoda | 3 |
15 | Carlos Sainz | 1 |
16 | Pierre Gasly | 0 |
17 | Fernando Alonso | 0 |
18 | Liam Lawson | 0 |
19 | Jack Doohan | 0 |
20 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 0 |
Norris retains his championship advantage but will need to finish ahead of Verstappen next time out to avoid relinquishing the lead.
Piastri jumps up into third spot past Russell, but him getting stuck behind Norris this week means he’s still 13 points out from the top spot.
Constructors Standings
Position | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
1 | McLaren | 111 |
2 | Mercedes | 75 |
3 | Red Bull | 61 |
4 | Ferrari | 35 |
5 | Williams | 19 |
6 | Haas | 15 |
7 | Aston Martin | 10 |
8 | Racing Bulls | 7 |
9 | Sauber | 6 |
10 | Alpine | 0 |
Mercedes maintains second in the constructors table over Red Bull, thanks in part to the fact Verstappen has scored every single point for the team so far.
Albon’s consistent results keep Williams as the best of the rest, while Racing Bullsmoves to eighth spot after Hadjar’s impressive efforts.
Alpine remains the only team with any points this far.