NEED TO KNOW: The most important facts, stats and trivia ahead of the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix

Formula 1 returns to action this weekend with the Japanese Grand Prix, kicking off a triple header of races. Ahead of the event getting underway at the Suzuka Circuit, Need to Know is your all-in-one guide with statistics, driving pointers, strategy tips and plenty more.

Free Practice 1 and 2 will take place on Friday, April 4, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying on Saturday, April 5 and the Grand Prix itself on Sunday, April 6.

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Vital Statistics

First Grand Prix – 1987
Track Length – 5.807km
Lap record – 1m 30.983s, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2019
Most pole positions – Michael Schumacher (8)
Most wins – Michael Schumacher (6)
Trivia – Suzuka is the only figure-of-eight track on the F1 calendar
Pole run to Turn 1 braking point – 277 metres
Overtakes completed in 2024 – 85
Safety Car probability – 67%
Virtual Safety Car probability – 50%
Pit stop time loss – 22.7 seconds (including 2.5s stationary)

The driver’s verdict

Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver: Suzuka is another drivers’ favourite and another one that’s a lot about flow. Across the first sector in particular there’s no real reference points after you ping it into Turn 1.

It’s all based on feel from Turns 2 to 7, just gauging the grip and balancing the car right on the edge through all the ‘S’ bends which culminate at Turn 7.

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After that it’s the Degners, which are mistake inducing. If you carry too much speed into Degner 1 you will struggle to stop for Degner 2. The hairpin that follows is not so bad; you’re braking a bit for the right hander, so you’ve got to be careful on peak brake pressure.

The second part of Spoon I found tricky, as you’re desperate to get on the throttle, and if you go too early it can draw you out onto the kerbing or beyond, and you have to back out and lose time.

130R is easy peasy, and then the chicane is a bit like Spa, maybe a little less dramatic, but you have to round out the lap with a tight sequence, lump a bit of kerb, and it’s all about the braking.

ONBOARD: Max Verstappen’s 2024 Pirelli Pole Position Award lap at the Japanese Grand Prix

Last five Japanese GP polesitters

2024 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2023 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2022 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2019 – Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
2018 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

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Last five Japanese GP winners

2024 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2023 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2022 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2019 – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
2018 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

SUZUKA, JAPAN - APRIL 07: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing — Verstappen stormed to pole position and the race victory at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2024

Tyre and strategy insight

“The C1, the hardest compound of the 2025 range, makes its season debut at this the third round, joined as usual by the C2 and the C3,” reads Pirelli’s weekend preview. “That’s because Suzuka is one of the toughest tracks on the calendar when it comes to tyres and Pirelli has therefore always selected the hardest trio of compounds.

“Something new for this year is the fact that a large part of the track has been resurfaced, from the exit of the last chicane to the end of the first sector. This is an important section, as it features medium and high-speed corners, some of them long ones, such as the first two after the start-finish straight, where tyres come under a lot of stress.

“Pre-event simulations, carried out using data supplied by the teams, suggests that lap times will come down thanks to the combined effect of the additional grip from the new surface and the increase in performance from the 2025 cars, which is reckoned will be around the one and a half seconds mark.

“That figure will be checked right from Friday during the first two hours of track activity. Also based on data from the teams, the Pirelli engineers have slightly modified the required minimum start pressures across both axles, with the front coming down by a half psi from 25 to 24.5 and the rear increasing by the same amount from 23 to 23.5.”

In terms of which strategy may prove the most popular for the race, Pirelli add: “There was quite a difference in strategy choices [in 2024], both in terms of the number of stops, with the two-stopper nevertheless proving the most popular, and the order in which the compounds were used.

“In the end, the C1 did the most laps (61% of the total) ahead of the medium (31%) and the soft only doing a short first or final stint, as its performance drop was quite significant.

“Worth noting that, starting on the medium and making only one change to hard, Charles Leclerc managed to make up four places from his grid position, to finish eighth.

“This year with what is on paper a big performance differential between the compounds, a one-stop could prove more complicated, although one must wait and see what influence the newly surfaced part of the track might have, as well as what the temperatures will be this weekend.”

SUZUKA, JAPAN - APRIL 07: Carlos Sainz of Spain driving (55) the Ferrari SF-24 leads Fernando — How will the resurfacing of part of the Suzuka Circuit affect strategy choices during the 2025 race?

Current form

It has been advantage McLaren so far in 2025, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri claiming one win apiece in Australia and China respectively, the second of which saw the Woking-based outfit score a 1-2 result to strengthen their lead over Mercedes in the Teams’ standings.

Things have not gone entirely their way, however; Piastri’s off during treacherous conditions in Melbourne has left him with points to make up if he hopes to catch his championship leader team mate, while Lewis Hamilton’s Sprint victory in Shanghai hinted at untapped potential from Ferrari.

The Suzuka Circuit is one that McLaren have performed well at in the past, having taken a 2-3 finish at the event in 2023 – but so has Max Verstappen, the man who beat them to P1 that day and has a total of three wins under his belt at the track. Can the Red Bull driver keep his title defence alive with a strong result?

On the other side of his team’s garage, Yuki Tsunoda will make his debut for the squad following the decision to demote Liam Lawson back to Racing Bulls following a tough opening two races for the New Zealander. With Red Bull aiming to reclaim the Teams’ crown that they lost last year, can Tsunoda help them to boost their points tally going forwards?

Over at Ferrari, the high that came from Hamilton’s Sprint win last time out in China was followed by a nightmare end to Sunday, with both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc being disqualified for separate technical breaches. Losing those points has seen them drop down to fifth in the standings, meaning that a good result will be much needed in Japan.

Elsewhere there is plenty to keep an eye on; Mercedes will be hoping to build on their promising performances from the first two races, while the midfield battle looks to be incredibly close, with only Alpine yet to get off the mark at the bottom of the Teams’ standings.

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Iconic moment

F1’s visit to Japan in 1989 yielded one of the most dramatic moments the sport has ever seen, with title rivals and McLaren team mates Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna banging wheels as they fought over the lead.

Reigning world champion Senna entered the weekend knowing he needed to win at Suzuka and the season finale at Adelaide to have any chance of retaining his world title, with Prost leading the way by 16 points.

Starting from pole position, Senna fell behind Prost as the lights went out and spent the early exchanges trailing by several seconds, but the balance of power shifted as the race developed and a tense battle brewed.

Senna eventually got close enough to attempt a move on Prost, hugging the sister McLaren through the high-speed 130R left-hander and lunging down the inside into the chicane, only for the two cars to make contact.

While Prost was out on the spot, Senna managed to continue, pit for a new front wing and regain the lead. However, after crossing the line to take victory, the stewards disqualified him for missing the chicane as he rejoined the track.

Relive the drama, and the fallout from the infamous incident, in the video player below...