The fallout from the Japanese Grand Prix continues to roll in following Max Verstappen’s victory and the failure of McLaren to continue their perfect star to the year
The Japanese Grand Prix is in the books and we’re all still processing McLaren’s failure to make it three victories from as many events in 2025. But Lando Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri had to settle for second and third at Suzuka.
Max Verstappen can rarely be considered a surprise winner given his record over the last few years, but even after he snatched pole from both McLaren drivers, few truly thought he would have the pace in his Red Bull to keep them behind for the whole race.
That’s what he did, though, sparking plenty of juicy comments particularly from the Red Bull camp. McLaren have faced some criticism over their approach to the race and the likes of Verstappen and team principal Christian Horner haven’t shied away from sticking the boot in.
Elsewhere, there was news of another driver swapping teams in the aftermath of the Suzuka race, though admittedly it wasn’t quite as dramatic as Red Bull’s brutal decision to axe Liam Lawson before the flight to Japan.
And Sir Jackie Stewart has also provided a gut-wrenching update on his wife Lady Helen’s condition, having battled against dementia for more than a decade. Mirror Sport has all the headlines:
READ MORE: Helmut Marko’s verdict on Yuki Tsunoda after pointless Japanese Grand Prix speaks volumesREAD MORE: McLaren F1 chief Andrea Stella shares Max Verstappen doubt after blow to Lando Norris
McLaren have ‘made their bed’
The obvious difference between Red Bull and McLaren right now is that the latter have two drivers in Norris and Piastri being given equal treatment, while Verstappen is the undisputed number one at his team. And that, Horner believes, could play into the Dutchman’s hands.
“The problem they have is they have two drivers that are fighting for the championship,” he said. “The difficulty they have is that they’ve made a bed where they’re going to let them race. So that’s the compromise that inevitably comes with it.”
Verstappen’s dig at Norris failure
Verstappen has many impressive performances in F1 under his belt but Sunday’s Suzuka win was certainly up there. His car does not have the race pace of the McLaren machines but, in those conditions that meant tyre degradation was so low, he had enough to keep his rivals behind.
And, afterwards, he had a cheeky dig at Norris and Piastri for failing to get past him by telling Dutch media: “I’m very happy with what I’m doing right now, but I could think what would happen when I would be in that other car [the Mclaren] – you wouldn’t see my anymore!”
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Haas poach driver from rivals
Despite only having signed for Alpine as a reserve and test driver in January, Ryo Hirakawa has handed in his notice and left for midfield rivals Haas. With his new employer, he will be the only reserve rather than one of several in the Alpine pool.
The 31-year-old is set for four practice appearances for Haas in 2025, the first coming in Bahrain this weekend. “It’s a real pleasure to work with a racer of his driving acumen,” team principal Ayao Komatsu said of Le Mans winner Hirakawa.
Sir Jackie says wife’s condition has worsened
Lady Helen Stewart was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2014. As it is a progressive disease, her health has worsened over that time and, speaking to the BBC, her husband Sir Jackie said that she recently, for the first time, forgot who he was.
“Just the other day it was time for dinner, she’s getting up and I’m sitting close by, and she says, ‘Where’s Jackie?’,” the three-time F1 champion said. “That’s the first time that’s happened and that’s only a few weeks ago. A bad feeling came over me.”
