Max Verstappen denied McLaren racers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for the Red Bull driver to seal his first win of the 2025 F1 season at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.
The 27-year-old is now just one point behind Norris at the top of the F1 drivers’ standings as Verstappen bids to become only the second pilot after Michael Schumacher to win five titles in a row. Piastri is also 12 points behind the Dutchman after he moved up to third at Suzuka.
It was widely expected that McLaren would dominate at the Japanese GP and continue their 100% start after Norris and Piastri’s wins in Australia and China. But Verstappen stole pole at Suzuka by just 0.014 seconds and utilised the clean air from his P1 start to clinch the victory.
McLaren boss Andrea Stella doubts Max Verstappen can ‘make the difference’ for Red Bull all season
A factor that helped Verstappen give Red Bull glory in Japan was Suzuka’s track resurfacing negated McLaren’s tyre management strengths. The reduced tyre degradation with the new asphalt saw Norris and Piastri struggle to get close and have to match Verstappen’s strategy.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella also believes Verstappen ‘made the difference’ in the Japanese GP given Red Bull’s car is known to be difficult to handle. Christian Horner said on Saturday that Red Bull turned Verstappen’s car over to find a set-up he could compete with.
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| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Lando Norris |
62 |
| 2 |
Max Verstappen |
61 |
| 3 |
Oscar Piastri |
49 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
45 |
| 5 |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
30 |
| 6 |
Charles Leclerc |
20 |
But Stella doubts Verstappen can continue to extract performance from the RB21 like he did at Suzuka throughout the 2025 F1 season. So, while McLaren missed out on a chance to add another win to their tally in Japan, their car advantage will help Norris and Piastri’s title bids.
“I think the most important condition to pursue both championships is having the best car,” Stella stated, via quotes by the Mirror. “When we are not in condition to win, finish on the podium and if in the long term you keep performing like this, I think this will be rewarding.
“Max at the moment is making the difference himself, but it is very difficult to keep that up for 24 events in a season if you don’t have the best car.”
Andrea Stella echoes Fernando Alonso’s fears for Max Verstappen’s 2025 title hopes
Stella is not alone in believing Red Bull’s car disadvantage to McLaren could cost Verstappen in the championship this season. Fernando Alonso is ‘afraid’ Verstappen will lose out on the 2025 drivers’ title like he did in 2012 with Ferrari unless Red Bull can improve their package.
Verstappen has so far extracted everything he can from his RB21 to rank just a point behind Norris in the standings through three rounds. But the Dutchman has to continue to perform at that level to avoid slipping away if McLaren can maximise their car’s potential more often.
Very, very tight margins determined the starting grid for the Japanese GP. And had Norris or Piastri found even one-tenth of a second in qualifying, Verstappen’s race would have looked very different with the McLaren men likely running off in the distance in a fight of their own.
