Red Bull have been the centre of media attention in Japan, on the whole for its surprise switch of drivers Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda for the seat alongside Max Verstappen. The Kiwi was ditched after just two race weekends of the 2025 Formula One season having been judged at two circuits where he has never driver before.
On the whole Tsunoda has delivered well at his home race in Suzuka, finishing close to his world champion team mate in practice and the the first round of qualifying where he was just a tenth of a second slower than Verstappen.
The team may have been partially responsible for Tsunoda’s exit having decided to give him used soft tyres for his first run in Q2. This was to save a second set of new tyres for Q3, but of course this became a moot point given Yuki failed to make the top ten shootout.
Verstappen surprised at pole
With the rear end instability of the RB21 visible for both the Red Bull drivers, Yuki was optimistic claiming “I feel like this car is on the edge with the rear, at least for now I feel pretty OK with the stability, I would say, in terms of rear sliding.”
Yet the shock of Japanese qualifying came at the end of Q3, when Verstappen laid down a lap that eclipsed even the McLaren duo in their much fancied MCL39 car. Max now starts the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix on pole position, which he has done in the last three visits to the land of the rising sun, before taking the win.
The world champion was clearly surprised and ecstatic when his engineer told him he’d claim pole position, as the expectation within the team that this would be a bridge too far. When asked in the subsequent FIA press conference how good his final lap really was, the world champion replied:
“Yeah, a lot of happiness when I crossed the line. The whole qualifying, we just kept on trying to improve the situation a bit. And the final lap, honestly, it was very good. I had a lot of fun out there, being fully committed everywhere. Some places, not sure if I was actually going to keep it or not, but yeah, it was really nice. And also great for the team as well,” he revealed.
Norris admits he had nothing more
Being fully committed is key to the fast flowing circuit at Suzuka, where driver rhythm is vital to extract the most out of a lap. Confidence and the ability to commit fully is something Max has complained about throughout the weekend.
The margins were tight between Max and the McLaren’s as the half a second gap between the teams from earlier in the weekend had evaporated. Lando Norris appeared somewhat surprised at the result which ended with Verstappen on pole position.
“I was pretty happy with my lap, honestly. I tried pushing on a good amount more in Q3 Run 1 and it didn’t work out clearly, so I just had to kind of peg it back a lot,” Norris told the written press. “I was happy with the balance and happy with the car at the end. The margin is so small – I think it was a hundredth in it – and you’d probably say yes, but yeah, just not enough for pole.”
Norris has been accused of “over driving” his McLaren on previous occasions with his race engineer telling him in Australia ‘the car has the pace’, implying the British driver did not need to push. Lando admits his first run in the top ten shootout saw him probably overdrive the car, with his second being more reigned in and the result was delivering two tenths more lap time.
Lando suggests McLaren progression smaller than others
During the trackside post quali interviews, Norris appeared to suggest he maxed out his McLaren’s capabilities, yet this was not enough to beat the charging world champion. “Congrats to Max, he did a good job. So hats off—you’ve got to credit something when it’s a lap that good, which he must have done, you know. But I mean, I’m happy because I feel like I got everything out of the car today. So, just, it’s tiny. Was there probably that much in it? Yes. But Max did an amazing lap, so we’re happy. I mean, for both of us to be up there, for us to be fighting for pole is good. But it’s not enough.”
Norris went on to suggest his team start the F1 weekends well, but surprisingly get pegged back by Red Bull over the course of a regular weekend with three practice sessions. “If quali was in FP1 and it was a Sprint race, I feel like I’d be much further ahead, but everyone’s good enough that by the time you get to quali, they kind of catch up a bit,” confessed Norris.
No F1 team lands week after week at different track configurations with an optimised F1 car, but Lando appears to be suggesting McLaren fail to make as much progress as the rest of the field.
McLaren quickest in EVERY session bar one
I’ve been feeling good, the car’s been feeling good from the off as well. We’ve been chipping away. I think between both of us we’ve been quickest in every session bar this one, so it’s the little frustrating one. The corners I still struggle with, the corners I’m still not happy with, are the corners I still just don’t have the front end and I don’t have the grip in the car when I need it from the front. It’s clear what suits me and what doesn’t, or just what allows me to be quick and what doesn’t. China was one of those weaker tracks, and we come here and the car’s a lot more how I want it. Much better again.”
Verstappen admitted his final effort included a big leap of faith as he sent his RB21 into turns at such speed he didn’t know of the car would remain stuck to the track. “The last lap,” he said, “I was like: ‘Well, I’m just going to not try and feel comfortable – just send it in and see what we get. It’s very rare, of course, that a lap like that then can stick, but this time it worked well.”
McLaren appear to have the edge in race pace of Red Bull from the limited data received from Friday’s running. Yet the papaya liveried cars were quickest over one lap the entire weekend, bar final qualifying, so maybe Red Bull’s race pace is also better than the data today has revealed.
Red Bull nobble Tsunoda’s qualifying
Formula One has arrived at one of its “classic” race tracks this weekend in Japan. Suzuka is known as a “drivers” circuit where the best have excelled and the rest find the weekend a bit of a slog.
To deliver the best lap time, confidence is crucial to maximise the car and for driver’s new to Suzuka the opening section is most daunting. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli who has never driven here before described his early runs back at base in the simulator.
“It’s even a bit scary in the sim when you do the fast chicanes [Esses]. I can only imagine the first lap in real life with the feeling of speed and everything, it’s going to feel crazy. Oh my god!,” the rookie said on Thursday… READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
