Just when it seemed that McLaren would run away with this year’s championships, Max Verstappen had different ideas. After astonishing everyone with his pole position on Saturday at the Suzuka International Circuit, he brilliantly controlled the Japanese Grand Prix to bring up his 64th race victory.
Although McLaren failed to win their third consecutive race in 2025, their drivers brought home a good number of points for the team. With Lando Norris finishing second and his teammate Oscar Piastri finishing on the final step of the podium, McLaren scored 33 points and extended their lead over second-placed Mercedes to 36 points.
However, it is the Drivers’ Championship standings where things are much tighter. With Verstappen winning at Suzuka, he has reduced Norris’ lead to just a point, with Piastri 13 points behind his teammate.
So, even though Piastri would have been disappointed to finish third and especially behind his teammate, his mom, Nicole Piastri, was delighted. What made the feat even more special for the Australian driver was that he got his 12th career podium at Suzuka on his 24th birthday.
“Birthday podium and Driver of the Day for my boys. Very proud,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Birthday podium and Driver of the Day for my boys. Very proud
— Nicole Piastri (@NicolePiastri) April 6, 2025
Piastri, though, did not get driver of the day as the award went to home favorite Yuki Tsunoda — Nicole’s adopted son. That said, Piastri drove a fine race as he kept Norris on his toes throughout the 53-lap Grand Prix by getting in the DRS of his teammate on several occasions. However, the week definitely belonged to Verstappen.
Verstappen’s perfect weekend in Japan
Despite not finishing any higher than fifth in any of the three practice sessions, Verstappen stunned everyone by grabbing pole on Saturday. What made his pole all the more special was that he set the new fastest lap around Suzuka by beating Sebastian Vettel’s record from 2019.
A day later, he controlled the race from the outset and never looked like losing it. Although Norris was able to reduce Verstappen’s lead to less than 1.5 seconds on several occasions in the closing stages of the race, he was never able to get in the DRS.
The closest Norris got was in the pit lane after it was Red Bull that made the uncharacteristic error of a pit stop that was a second slower than McLaren’s. This just goes to show how perfect Verstappen’s weekend was, as even an error from Red Bull could not help Norris win the race.
