McLaren widens the gap, Ferrari flounders: the evolution of the constructors’standings after the Japanese Grand Prix

No one thought they would see this in 2025, at least not so soon. Max Verstappen won the Japanese Grand Prix. After 53 laps of mastery, the four-time world champion held his ground against the McLarens. It’s the 64th victory of his career, the first since Qatar last year. During a calm race on the Suzuka track, McLaren stood out for their lack of initiatives. However, the team from Woking brings back 33 points from this weekend, enough to satisfy the team. Ferrari and Mercedes remained calm behind, not really helped by the competitiveness of their cars. Isack Hadjar scored his first points in F1, and Alex Albon continues to impress.

McLaren, mixed feelings

2nd and 3rd at the start, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri took the checkered flag in the same positions, just over a second behind Max Verstappen. A disappointing result given the performance of this McLaren. Piastri, who was faster than his teammate on numerous occasions during the Grand Prix, was not allowed a position change to try and catch Verstappen. And Norris was never in a position to challenge the Dutchman. The only time the Briton tried something, he sent his car into the grass (upon exiting the pit lane). A frustrating race considering the intrinsic performance of the McLaren.

It remains that from an accounting perspective, this Japanese Grand Prix is a very good operation for Zak Brown’s men. They lead with 111 points, which is 36 more than Mercedes (75 points). And the gap with the other teams is even larger: 50 points ahead of Red Bull, 76 over Ferrari. On a collective level, the start of the season is more than successful.

Red Bull can thank Max Verstappen

By securing a superb victory, Max Verstappen allows his team to reposition in the constructors’ standings. The Dutchman, the only one capable of bringing in points, enables Red Bull to gain 7 points on Mercedes, which is in second place. The gap is also widened with Ferrari (+26). Verstappen had a complete weekend, once again demonstrating that he should be considered one of the greatest in F1, despite being only 27 years old. He also reenters the drivers’ championship race: only one point now separates him from Lando Norris (62 for Verstappen versus 61 for the Dutchman). You should never count out a four-time world champion.

For Red Bull, the key to the season will be to get the second car back into fighting order. Yuki Tsunoda struggled a lot over the weekend, finishing only 12th in the race. Red Bull and Max Verstappen won’t be able to maintain their position for long with just one competitive car. And as drivers continue to rotate in that ill-fated seat, it increasingly seems like it’s a car problem, not a driver one.

Mercedes and Ferrari in the trough of the wave

Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell placed their Mercedes 6th and 5th at the finish. With more than fifteen seconds behind the race leader. Mercedes collects 18 points at the end of the weekend. A decent performance for the German team, which still falls a bit behind the leaders. There was a lack of performance in the car in Japan to achieve a better result.

On the Ferrari side, it is still not a celebration. Although the Italian team achieved its best accounting result, it only represents 18 points. After the double disqualification in China, the Maranello team struggles to capitalize on its car’s performance. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished 4th and 7th. “I think there was nothing more to do. It shows there’s still work to be done. For now, we just need more performance,” explained Charles Leclerc at the finish.

Williams impresses, Hadjar confirms, Alpine disappoints

Williams once again achieved a great result thanks to the performance of their driver Alex Albon. The Thai driver, finishing 9th, earned his team 2 points. Positioned in 5th place in the constructors’ standings with 19 points, the Grove team has already surpassed their total points in 2024 (17).

Isack Hadjar scored his first points in F1, finishing in 8th place. A well-managed race by the young Frenchman, who shows incredible ease at the wheel. Four additional points for Racing Bulls, who surpass Kick Sauber by taking the 8th place in the standings. « The P8 is truly well-deserved. It’s almost a perfect weekend. We couldn’t have done better. We knew we were going to fight against Albon and we had a perfect race » said Isack Hadjar after the Grand Prix.

Finally, Alpine ends the weekend still without points. Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan were unable to extract the best from a complicated and underperforming car. The Frenchman finished in 13th place, ahead of the Australian, who was 15th at the finish. The only team with 0 points in the constructors’ championship, the start of the season is close to disastrous for Alpine. Already burdened by numerous costly accidents, Alpine must recover.

Next meeting in Bahrain next weekend.

Constructor standings after the Japanese Grand Prix