Formula 1 returns to action after a weekend off to start the first triple-header of the 2025 season at the Japanese Grand Prix, with the question on everyone’s lips being can McLaren be stopped?
McLaren enter the weekend at Suzuka as favourite after Oscar Piastri‘s victory in China last time out, whilst rivals Red Bull and Ferrari have their issues to sort out.
So who what are the F1 storylines ahead of the Suzuka weekend?
Red Bull in crisis?
There is no doubt that the biggest story this weekend is the change at Red Bull.
After two lacklustre races, crashing out in Australia and then qualifying slowest for both the sprint and grand prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Liam Lawson has been shifted out of the race seat alongside Max Verstappen and dropped to the Racing Bulls.
Brutal, perhaps even harsh, but nothing short of what has been expected from Red Bull in recent memory – the Kiwi the second driver in three years to not reach half a season after Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri.
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He has been welcomed back with arms wide open into the Faenza-based outfit, with team principal Laurent Mekies clearly keen to show that there is an arm around Lawson‘s shoulder. That could prove crucial in rebuilding his career and, more importantly, confidence behind the wheel.
On a positive note, Yuki Tsunoda gets a chance to impress in the Red Bull at his home race. The Japanese driver has been bolshy with his comments in the build-up to the race weekend, calling for pressure to be applied to him and suggesting he would not follow Verstappen‘s set-up directions, instead opting to find his own way through the bedding-in period.
How will Tsunoda do? Time will tell. But Red Bull desperately needs him to hit the ground running.
Ferrari must bounce back
It has been far from a perfect start for Ferrari this season having entered the campaign favourite to challenge McLaren for the title.
Plenty of hype was directed towards the Scuderia with the addition of Lewis Hamilton to its ranks and, while teammate Charles Leclerc insisted the seven-time champion “outperformed” the car to win the Chinese sprint, grand prix pace has been lacking for both drivers.
The Monegasque believes this is down to increased tyre wear due to poor qualifying performances – a continuation of the issues suffered last season by the Maranello-based outfit – and that a better Saturday will lead to a genuine challenge.
That may back what Leclerc said about his fortunes in China, where he believed he had the pace to challenge Norris and Piastri even with a damaged front wing. That, however, would have been a moot point given both Ferraris were disqualified post-race anyway.
Lewis Hamilton has played down suggestions of a lack of faith in the team already, insisting he is 100% behind the Scuderia. He also insisted there was no frustration at the disqualification. That’s all well and good, but the performance has to show in results on track in the near future because that double-no score has dented title hopes early on.
Both drivers will be aiming to at least challenge for a podium this weekend and then make advancements on McLaren’s dominant position.
Can McLaren be stopped?
The short answer is yes. It’s always yes.
Anything can happen in F1 and rain is again a threat to the grand prix this Sunday, though the forecast is decreasing the chance of a wet race by the day.
McLaren has been by far the quickest in both the dry and wet across the first two races but the team hasn’t been flawless. Piastri‘s spin and Norris‘ brief off in Australia proves the danger of rainfall at the wrong place and time, while Norris was “lucky” to finish the race last time in China when brake issues struck.
Verstappen‘s pace on the second stint there was also comparable to the McLaren and we know Leclerc‘s thoughts on pace. If any of the Woking-based outfit’s rivals can find a step, then Norris and Piastri will have to be wary.
