Every F1 Driver’s History at the Japanese Grand Prix

Verstappen has won the last three Suzuka races, Hamilton has taken four Japanese Grand Prix victories at the track and seven current drivers have a 100% finish rate at the circuit. Here’s everything you need to know about each driver’s history at the Japanese Grand Prix!

🇳🇱 Max VERSTAPPEN

Max Verstappen made his first ever F1 appearance at the Suzuka circuit in 2014, as he took part in Free Practice 1 with the Toro Rosso team. Since then, Verstappen has scored points six times, won three times, finished on the podium six times and retired once.

Verstappen secured his second World Championship title at the track in 2022, doing so by winning at Suzuka for the first time. He has won the Japanese Grand Prix in each of the last three seasons.

His only retirement to date at Suzuka came in 2019, when he failed to finish the race following a collision with Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen has qualified in the top five in all of the last seven Suzuka races, taking his first pole position – and first front row start – at the circuit in 2022. He went on to secure back-to-back poles at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix and secured a third pole in a row here in 2024. Verstappen is yet to lose a place from where he has started in all seven races which he has finished at Suzuka.

MAX VERSTAPPEN’S JAPANESE GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇳🇿 Liam LAWSON

Liam Lawson had already raced at Suzuka once in 2023 by the time he competed in the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix. He took part in the Super Formula race at the track in April. Qualifying ninth, he made up positions in the race to finish fourth.

In the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, Lawson finished where he started in 11th place, narrowly missing out on points.

After his Japanese Grand Prix appearance, he returned to the track for the final two rounds of the Super Formula season, where he finished sixth and second in the two races to secure second place in the championship.

LIAM LAWSON’S JAPANESE GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇬🇧 Lando NORRIS

Lando Norris recorded his first podium finish at Suzuka in 2023, finishing as runner-up to Max Verstappen. He recorded his best qualifying result to date at the track with third place, maintaining his 100% Q3 appearance rate at the Japanese Grand Prix. After equalling his best qualifying result at the circuit, Norris finished fifth in the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix.

Norris’ 11th place finish at the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix is the only time that he has failed to score a point on his four visits to Suzuka. He qualified in eighth for the 2019 race, one place behind his team-mate. 2023 is the only other time he has been out-qualified by his team-mate here.

Prior to his full-time F1 drive, Norris drove at the Suzuka circuit for the first time in 2018, in Free Practice 1 for the Japanese Grand Prix with McLaren.

LANDO NORRIS’ JAPANESE GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇦🇺 Oscar PIASTRI

Oscar Piastri recorded the first podium result of his Formula 1 career at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix. His third place finish came on his first appearance at Suzuka, for which he qualified on the front row – one position ahead of his McLaren team-mate.

Piastri was unable to finish on the podium again in 2024. After qualifying sixth, behind his team-mate, Piastri spent most of his second Japanese Grand Prix appearance planted behind Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin. A mistake on the final lap saw him lose a position to George Russell and finish eighth.

OSCAR PIASTRI’S JAPANESE GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇬🇧 Lewis HAMILTON

Lewis Hamilton has won at Suzuka four times, all in the V6 hybrid era. He won in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. He finished on the podium in every Japanese Grand Prix from 2014 to 2019, finishing third in the years which he did not win.

Fifth place in 2022 was Hamilton’s first non-podium result at Suzuka since his retirement in 2013. He recorded his second consecutive top five finish at the track in the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix. His 2013 retirement was the only time he had not finished in the top five in his 14 appearances at Suzuka, until the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix when he came home in ninth place.

Hamilton has qualified outside of the top three only five times at Suzuka, including in each of his last four visits. 2024 was the first time since 2018 that he did not finish in a better position than where he started. It wasn’t until 2017 that Hamilton took his first pole at the track, which he followed up with another pole in 2018.

Since 2017, 2019 is the only time that Hamilton has been out-qualified by his team-mate at Suzuka.

LEWIS HAMILTON’S JAPANESE GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇲🇨 Charles LECLERC

Charles Leclerc scored points at Suzuka for the first time in 2019. He finished sixth in 2019, following on from his DNF in the previous season. He’s finished in the top six on all of his last four visits, recording his first podium finish at Suzuka with third place in 2022 and finishing fourth in each of the last two seasons.

2019 marked the first time Leclerc reached the final part of qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix. He lined up on the front row of the grid, just behind his team-mate. He took another front row start at Suzuka in 2022 and qualified in the top four in 2023. His Q2 exit – where he qualified in 11th – in 2018 is the only time that Leclerc has not progressed to Q3 at Suzuka.

CHARLES LECLERC’S JAPANESE GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇬🇧 George RUSSELL

George Russell finished 16th in the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix. He qualified 18th, ahead of his team-mate and Kevin Magnussen, who both crashed in Q1.

Russell failed to out-qualify Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton at Suzuka in 2022, qualifying two positions behind him in eighth place. Russell finished the race in the same position as he started, picking up his first points at Suzuka.

Russell qualified eighth again in 2023, one position behind his team-mate. He went on to record his best result to date at the circuit with seventh place. Russell was out-qualified by his team-mate once more in 2024, reaching Q3 and starting ninth. He gained two places in the race – including passing team-mate Hamilton and passing Oscar Piastri on the final lap following a mistake by the McLaren driver.

GEORGE RUSSELL’S JAPANESE GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇮🇹 Kimi ANTONELLI

Kimi Antonelli has never previously raced at Suzuka.

🇪🇸 Fernando ALONSO

Fernando Alonso has recorded a single win at Suzuka in his Formula 1 career, winning the Japanese Grand Prix in 2006. With seventh place in 2022, it marked the first time that Alonso had scored at the track since 2013. He went on to score again in 2023, this time finishing eighth. Sixth place in 2024 at Suzuka marked his best result at the Japanese Grand Prix since 2013.

Alonso has never taken pole at Suzuka, nor has he ever lined up on the front row of the grid at the track. His best qualifying result here is fifth, which he has recorded six times. 2024 marked his first top five qualifying result at the track since 2013. His best grid position here is fourth, recorded in 2010.

From his 18 appearances, Alonso has been out-qualified by his team-mate on five occasions, with 2022 being the first time this happened since 2013. Of the 15 races which he has completed at Suzuka, 2016 and 2024 are the only occasions on which he has finished the race in a worse position than where he started.

FERNANDO ALONSO’S JAPANESE GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇨🇦 Lance STROLL

Lance Stroll finished ninth in the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix, making it the first time that he has scored points at Suzuka. It remains the only time he has scored points at the circuit. He failed to finish in 2017 and 2023, finished 17th in 2018 and came home 12th in both the 2022 and 2024 Japanese Grands Prix.

Stroll reached Q2 in 2018 and 2019 at Suzuka, recording a best qualifying position of 12th in 2019. He was eliminated in Q1 on his first appearance in 2017 and on all of his three most recent Suzuka appearances.

2022 was the first time since his maiden season that Stroll was out-qualified by his team-mate at the Japanese Grand Prix. He is yet to out-qualify Fernando Alonso here. On each of the last three occasions that he has finished the race, he has done so at least three positions higher up than where he started.

LANCE STROLL’S JAPANESE GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇫🇷 Pierre GASLY

Pierre Gasly scored points at the Japanese Grand Prix for the first time in 2019 with a seventh place finish. Until 2023, it was his only points-scoring appearance at Suzuka. Thee Frenchman has a 100% finishing record at the track but seventh in 2019 and tenth in 2023 are his only points-scoring appearances.

Gasly reached Q3 in both 2018 and 2019, but was eliminated in Q1 in 2017, 2022 and 2024. He recorded his first Q2 exit at the track in 2023. 2023 was only the second time, after 2019, that Gasly out-qualified his team-mate at this circuit.

Gasly raced at Suzuka in Super Formula in 2017. He finished tenth in the first round of the season. Suzuka was scheduled to hold the final two rounds of the Super Formula season too, for which Gasly missed the 2017 United States Grand Prix, but the races were cancelled due to the weather conditions.

PIERRE GASLY’S JAPANESE GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇦🇺 Jack DOOHAN

Jack Doohan raced at Suzuka in the F3 Asian Championship in 2022. Of the three races that weekend, he won two of them.

🇫🇷 Esteban OCON

From his six previous visits to the Japanese Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon has a 100% finish rate and has scored on all but two outings. He finished 21st in 2016 and 15th in 2024 but has finished in the top nine on every other appearance. He recorded his best result at the track to date in the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, with a fourth place finish.

2023 marked the first – and so far only – time that Ocon has been out-qualified by a team-mate at the circuit. His Q2 exits in the last two seasons and his Q1 elimination in 2016 are the only times that Ocon has not reached Q3 at Suzuka. His best qualifying result here is fifth, recorded in 2022.

As a result of penalties for other drivers, 2022 was actually the first time Ocon started from the position in which he qualified at the Japanese Grand Prix. He also started fifth on the grid in 2017.

ESTEBAN OCON’S JAPANESE GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇬🇧 Ollie BEARMAN

Ollie Bearman has never previously raced at Suzuka.

🇯🇵 Yuki TSUNODA

Yuki Tsunoda made his Japanese Grand Prix debut in 2022, becoming the first Japanese driver to take part in his home Grand Prix since Kamui Kobayashi in 2014. In 2024, he became the first Japanese driver to score at his home event since Kobayashi in 2012 with a tenth place finish.

Tsunoda reached Q2 in 2022, out-qualifying his team-mate and setting the 13th fastest time. He finished the race in the same position as he started. He again out-qualified his team-mate in 2023, this time reaching Q3 and starting ninth on the grid. He lost three positions over the course of the race to finish 12th.

Tsunoda out-qualified his team-mate for a third consecutive appearance in 2024. From tenth on the grid, he finished where he started to score his first point on home soil.

Tsunoda previously raced at Suzuka in the F4 Japanese Championship and has had some impressive results, including winning both races in 2018.

YUKI TSUNODA’S JAPANESE GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇫🇷 Isack HADJAR

Iscak Hadjar has not raced at Suzuka before but it is one of his favourite tracks. In an interview with Red Bull he said:

“I think that everyone knows that the esses of Suzuka is one of if not the best section of corners in the world, mainly because of its flow. But my favourite corner is Degner 1 which is a 90-degree high-speed corner where any mistake leads to the wall. I feel like it’s the only track where all the corners are enjoyable to send the car in.”

🇪🇸 Carlos SAINZ

Carlos Sainz recorded his best Japanese Grand Prix result to date in 2024, finishing on the podium for the first time at Suzuka. He has scored points on five of his eight appearances at the track, recording further top six finishes in 2019 and 2023. He had previously scored twice at the track with tenth place finishes for Toro Rosso in 2015 and Renault in 2018.

Sainz has recorded two retirements at the Japanese Grand Prix, in 2017 – on his final race appearance with Toro Rosso – and in 2022. Both of those retirements were the result of crashes on the opening lap of the race.

In 2019, Sainz reached Q3 for the first time at Suzuka, qualifying in seventh place. He has reached Q3 on all three visits since, following it up with his best qualifying result to date at the circuit in 2022, with third place, sixth in 2023 and fourth in 2024. He had been eliminated in Q2 in every season prior to 2019.

2022 was the first time since 2016 that the Spaniard was out-qualified by a team-mate at the circuit. He was out-qualified again in 2023.

CARLOS SAINZ’S JAPANESE GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇹🇭 Alex ALBON

On his first Japanese Grand Prix appearance in 2019, Alex Albon finished in fourth place, which was the best result of his career at the time. He reached the final part of qualifying, starting sixth on the grid but failing to out-qualify his team-mate.

Albon has failed to finish at Suzuka since then. In 2022, he out-qualified his team-mate, just missing out on Q2 and qualifying in 16th place. He made up three places at the start of the race but retired on the opening lap following contact with Kevin Magnussen.

Albon reached Q2 in 2023 but capped off a disappointing day for Williams, retiring from the race as a result of collision damage on Lap 27.

In 2024, Albon qualified 14th but contact on the opening lap with Daniel Ricciardo saw him record a second first lap DNF at Suzuka.

ALEX ALBON’S JAPANESE GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇩🇪 Nico HULKENBERG

From 11 appearances at the Japanese Grand Prix, Nico Hulkenberg has scored points five times, with a best result of sixth place in both 2013 and 2015. He has not scored a point at the track since 2016.

Of his non points-scoring races here, three resulted in retirements, while he and his team finished tenth in 2019 before being disqualified having found to be using illegal driver aids. 11th place in 2024 is the closest he has come to scoring a point in Japan.

2016 is the last time Hulkenberg reached Q3 at the Japanese Grand Prix. It’s one of four Q3 appearances he’s had at the track, with a best Saturday result of seventh place in 2013. 2018 and 2023 are the only seasons in which he has been eliminated in Q1 at the track.

Hulkenberg has gained at least one position from where he has started every time he has been classified in the Japanese Grand Prix.

NICO HULKENBERG’S JAPANESE GRAND PRIX HISTORY

🇧🇷 Gabriel BORTOLETO

Gabriel Bortoleto has not previously raced at Suzuka.