Peter Windsor disagrees with Oscar Piastri as he makes surprise admission about the Japanese Grand Prix

The Japanese Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen claim his first win of the 2025 season. He fended off pressure from the McLarens to win in front of Honda’s home crowd.

The defending four-time champion claimed pole position from Lando Norris with a stunning lap. He went just 12 thousandths of a second quicker than his title rival, with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri only 32 thousandths behind in third.

Verstappen faced pressure from the McLarens throughout the race but they were unable to find an overtaking opportunity. The 27-year-old held on to win by just 1.4 seconds to Norris, ending the Woking-based outfit’s 100% start to the season.

McLaren had claimed pole position and the win in the opening two races – Norris in Melbourne and Piastri in Shanghai. Now, Verstappen finds himself just a point behind the former heading into the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Many will hope the race at Sakhir will produce more entertainment than the Japanese Grand Prix. The race at Suzuka saw very little racing action on track.

Peter Windsor calls the Japanese Grand Prix ‘one of the best races’ he’s ever seen

There were no retirements from the Japanese GP as Lance Stroll was the only driver not to finish on the lead lap. After 53 laps, there was only one overtake inside the top 10, as Lewis Hamilton finished ahead of rookie Isack Hadjar.

A big reason for this was the dirty air on the circuit. Despite being within a second for most of the race, Norris and Piastri could not find a way past Verstappen as he enjoyed clean air out in front.

F1 fans were furious with the issue as it ruined any action during the Grand Prix. Piastri labelled the race as ‘boring’ as he got stuck behind his teammate in third despite looking quicker for large parts.

However, speaking on the Cameron Cc YouTube channel, Peter Windsor does not agree with the Aussie or the fans. He felt the Japanese GP was ‘one of the best races’ he had seen due to the ‘incredible tension’ of drivers being so close together at the front.

“It’s one of the best races I’ve seen because it was non-stop pressure.” he said. “Non-stop foot tapping, there was no way Max can keep this up for an entire GP that’s what was in my mind. Where is Lando going to get him? Are McLaren going to do the right thing?

“A boring race is when the leader disappears by 30 seconds and there is no overtakes. I actually enjoyed it and it looks as if the right guy won the race. I can understand people saying it was boring, but this was incredible tension.”

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

McLaren face a huge problem with their drivers after the Japanese Grand Prix

While it can be argued McLaren did all they could to battle Verstappen given the dirty air, it could easily have been a third win of the season for the Woking-based outfit.

Piastri was pit first while Norris came in with Verstappen a lap later, with the pair exiting side by side. The former was one second quicker in the box, which could have seen the Brit undercut the Red Bull had he been stopped earlier.

Jacques Villeneuve criticised McLaren for not being bold with their strategy, as they could have taken the win from Verstappen. Instead, they had to settle for P2 and P3, with Piastri looking quicker than Norris for much of the race.

However, the team opted not to swap the drivers. James Hinchcliffe thinks there are internal politics in play at McLaren as they want to bridge the gap to Verstappen – they must figure out who to prioritise.

It has been a problem plaguing the team since last season and could cost them the title if they remain indecisive about who to give advantage to. Marc Priestley says McLaren ‘desperately need’ to avoid a disaster and must have one driver dominate in 2025.