Jeremy Clarkson suggests scrapping F1 circuits after Japan GP in viral post

Following a sedate 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has offered a solution you’d only expect from the television personality who’s well known for his humorous comments.

“I’ve had an idea to make F1 racing more consistently exciting. Don’t use tracks where overtaking is difficult,” he posted to X earlier this week. This viral post saw a reach of 2.1 million people just days after his initial reaction to the race which compared it to a game of cricket.

“That F1 race this morning gave me an idea of what it might be like to watch cricket,” he joked.

The Suzuka campaign saw Max Verstappen take his first win of the 2025 Formula 1 season, leading McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to the podium. While he gave viewers a stunning show of precision driving, the race was criticised for its lack of action.

After the first lap, only 15 overtakes were recorded during the Grand Prix, with 11 drivers finishing where they started. In the top 10, it was only Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton who gained a position as he overtook Racing Bull’s Isack Hadjar. This is down from 48 overtakes in 2024.

“I spent a lot of the race in traffic and it’s not much fun looking at someone’s rear wing in the DRS,” Nico Hulkenberg said on the race. “It’s so difficult with these cars in the dirty air.”

Max Verstappen offered his reasoning in a discussion with Motorsport.com.

“A lot of fast corners and that makes it very hard to follow,” he admitted. “The tyres get very hot when you get close to someone. The cars get better every year as well, with a lot of dirty air, so it just gets harder and harder.

“When the lap times are quite close together without a lot of tyre degradation, then it becomes very difficult.”

Following his posts, Clarkson was challenged by a fan who questioned whether the change should in fact come from the design of the cars.

“Sure. The cars are bigger so accept that, ignore the ‘incentives’, and use tracks that are suitable. Ultimately, the revenue comes from fans. Always,” he responded.

2026 brings a host of changes, including a powertrain with a renewed focus on hybrid power. But the changes will also see the cars get smaller and lighter. Width will be reduced by 100mm to 1,900mm, the wheelbase will be shortened 200mm to 3400mm, and the minimum weight is being dropped 30kg to 768kg.