2025 Japanese GP Preview: Red Bull in shambles and McLaren supreme

Last year it was a straight-forward drive for both Red Bull drivers, Max Verstappen and his then teammate, Sergio Perez. Now, the Dutchman has seen the Mexican and his replacement, Liam Lawson dispatched by Red Bull leadership off in the space of 3 months, with Yuki Tsunoda set to make his debut at his home race in Suzuka for the Austrian team.

It's been hectic weeks for Red Bull, with tension breweing within the team which recently held a crisis meeting to address the profound issues in the RB21, as the team look for a way out of the hole they're in.

While they seemed to draw hope from Verstappen's second half of his final stint at the Chinese Grand Prix, taking 2 seconds off the race winner Oscar Piastri's overall lead, McLaren are rumoured to suffer in the cool temperatures. A deceitful comfort, then, particularly since the gap the Australian had on the Dutchman at the line in Shanghai was of 16 seconds.

With Yuki Tsunoda racing for Red Bull Racing for the first time, it is not expected that the Japanese will fight for the trophies this weekend, despite his abundant self-confidence. However, at the top it looks closer than ever among McLaren's pursuers.

Ferrari are a match for McLaren in race trim, but their qualifying pace leaves much to be desired. The Italian team has made the compromise of rapid tyre warm up for tyre longevity, which is costing them time on Saturdays and therefore grid positions on Sunday.

On top of that, the pressure is on them to perform after coming off two poor weekends, in the first two races of the season, with a double disqualification as the team's most recent result.

Mercedes were the team that got the closest to McLaren last time out in China, but their 2025 contender, the W16 seems to have a very narrow window of optimal functionality.

Out of it, the tricky Pirelli tyres for the current season are even more difficult to manage, which demanded a costly price from the German team's rookie, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, across the entire race weekend in China.

As has been the case since 2019, after Daniel Ricciardo's departure from Red Bull, Max Verstappen is the sole consistent challenger for the Austrian team and it looks like that trend will not be interrupted anytime soon.

Nevertheless, how far up he'll be able to fight his way through the field depends on the difficult, hard on tyres and, in normal conditions, slower than its direct rivals, RB21.

At McLaren, the team that are currently 2 for 2, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri taking a Grand Prix win each in the two races that have been raced so far this season, they're confident they can repeat their recent successes, this time on Japanese soil.

The MCL39 is by and large the strongest car on the grid and is currently, albeit a tad tricky, something championship leader, Norris, has often complained about. Regardless, as shown across two very different circuits now, Albert Park, and the Shanghai International Circuit, the McLarens are now the benchmark and the win looks like it will be disputed by both papaya drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

As regular in the United Kingdom, the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix can be followed on Sky Sports F1. On Friday, the coverage is set to begin at 03:00 for the start of FP1, while FP2's broadcast will begin 15 minutes before the green flag at 06:45. There will be a similar lead-up to FP3 on the Saturday, beginning at 03:15, while the coverage begins 45 minutes ahead of Qualifying at 06:15. That session will be followed by the F1 Show, and then Ted's Quali Notebook.

On Sunday, the channel's broadcast kicks off at 05:00, and similarly to the Sunday, it will be followed by the post-race show and Ted's notebook. Highlights of all events will be available on Sky Sports F1's YouTube channel, including Ted's Notebook.

After a Sprint weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit, a regular one is set to follow in Japan. The event will take place on 4-6 April, and will be the third round on the 2025 calendar.

For European fans, it will be what they have already got used to this season: an early start. Therefore it is important to set the alerts early on, as Japan is eight hours ahead. The first session of the day (FP1 and FP3) will begin on both Friday and Saturday at 03:30, while the second sessions (FP2 and Qualifying) will kick off at 07:00 respectively.

On the Sunday, the Japanese Grand Prix begin at 14:00 local time, which is at 06:00 in the United Kingdom.