On Track

6 Apr 2025

The Debrief by Aramco: Japanese Grand Prix

For the third round of the 2025 Formula One World Championship, we made our way across the East China Sea from Shanghai to Suzuka. Get the thoughts of Lance, Fernando and our team from across the weekend.

Situated among the sakura for the season's first triple-header, our drivers finished Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix in P11 and P20.

Sunday round-up and reaction

Rain fell on Suzuka Circuit ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, and clouds continued to loom over the track, with a 40 per cent chance of precipitation during the race itself.
Following a penalty for Carlos Sainz, Fernando began the race from P12 on the Medium tyre. Starting from P20, Lance opted for the Soft compound.
Both drivers made up a place on the Grand Prix's opening lap.
Lance and Fernando pitted for Hard tyres at the end of Lap 9 and Lap 24 respectively. Lance made his second stop midway through the race, coming in for Mediums.
Fernando finished just outside the points in P11.

P11

F. Alonso

FL: 1:31.770

P20

L. Stroll

FL: 1:32.052

#18 | Lance Stroll | Race

"Ultimately there wasn't much we could do today – we tried to make up some positions at the start, but it wasn't possible. It was still an opportunity to learn what we could, with setups for Bahrain, and we'll take that forward. It was just one of those days and we will see what we can do next weekend."

#14 | Fernando Alonso | Race

"It was a difficult race today at Suzuka and despite our best efforts we missed out on the points. The first half of the race I had Pierre [Gasly] within one-second and then Yuki [Tsunoda] close for the second half of the race, so I couldn't make a mistake. Suzuka is a great circuit, and I really enjoy racing here, but it's very hard to overtake on this track. We need to improve our car performance going forward and I'm looking forward to that development."

Andy Cowell | CEO & Team Principal

"Today's race had its challenges. We tried to seize available opportunities where we could, but in reality, there were very few. We gave our best effort with Fernando, our strategy was strong, but we ultimately finished in eleventh - just outside the points - which was the maximum we could achieve.

"Lance's starting position made it really difficult to progress through the field, especially at a track like Suzuka where overtaking is notoriously tough.

"The race has highlighted other areas we can improve; it's part of the learning and building process and we'll take these lessons forward as we head into Bahrain next weekend."

Next up

It's another quick turnaround as we make our way to Bahrain International Circuit for the continuation of the triple-header on 11-13 April.

Saturday

Following a 180-degree wind change overnight, a tailwind became present between Turn 2 and Turn 7, causing less downforce in those key corners. As a result of this, and in response to simulator learnings, setup changes were made to the AMR25 ahead of Free Practice Three.
Two red flags caused by grass fires resulted in some disruptions to the final Free Practice, but Lance and Fernando were able to set 33 total laps across both the Hard and Medium compounds.
During Qualifying, Lance experienced a strong tailwind in the Esses. The additional 20km/h of wind resulted in him being unable to progress to the session's second segment.
Another red flag due to a grass fire interrupted Q2. When the session resumed, Fernando set a time of 1:27.897 and qualified P13.

#18 | Lance Stroll | Qualifying

"Today's Qualifying session was challenging. The red flags in FP2 and FP3 prevented us from running Soft tyres, making it hard to get an accurate read on the car. Unfortunately, a strong gust of wind caught me during my final push lap, causing the car to lose balance and forcing me wide at Turn 6. As a result, we didn't make it into Q2.

"With rain likely tomorrow, we will look for any opportunities to capitalise on in the race."

FP3

1:30.267

P19

1:29.271

P20

#14 | Fernando Alonso | Qualifying

"I was feeling competitive yesterday but I think with the wind direction change we weren't quite as fast today. I was happy with all of my laps in Qualifying and we finished P14 in Q1 and P13 in Q2, so I think that was our pace. We need to improve our car performance to be able to reach Q3. We'll try to fight for the points scoring positions tomorrow."

FP3

1:29.772

P15

1:28.337

P14

1:27.897

P13

Andy Cowell | CEO & Team Principal

"I think Fernando's assessment after Qualifying is a fair reflection of our pace right now and it was the maximum available to us today. There was a lot of consideration given to setup adjustments throughout the session, but in Q2 Fernando made the call not to make any further changes. It was the right decision and he found a couple of tenths on his final attempt.

"Lance's session was cut short when he ran wide at Turn Six due to some strong tailwinds. There was a gust of wind 12kph stronger than his earlier run and that pushed him wide and through the gravel. We knew the wind was going to be an issue today, but he was just unlucky.

"There is still plenty to play for tomorrow, especially if the weather forecast brings the expected rain."

Friday

It was a windy morning in Suzuka, with a tailwind present throughout the circuit during Free Practice One.
As the team assessed the pace of the AMR25 and worked to understand how the tyres reacted to sector one's resurfacing, Lance and Fernando ran a combination of shorter and longer stints throughout the day in preparation for Qualifying and Sunday's Grand Prix.
Setting a combined 50 laps in the weekend's first practice, our drivers began on Hard tyres before switching to the Soft compound with a third of the session still to go.
Lance and Fernando were straight out in FP2 to gather information on the Medium compound tyre. Fernando was unlucky to get stuck in the gravel during the second half of the second practice, and four red flags over the course of the session – two caused by grass fires – resulted in limited running for the team.

#18 | Lance Stroll | Free Practice

"It's nice to be back in Suzuka. There wasn't too much running in FP2 due to multiple red flags, but we've been able to learn quite a lot and will analyse the data tonight. I'm looking forward to applying what we've learnt and getting back in the car tomorrow."

FP1

1:29.758

P16

FP2

1:30.845

P19

#14 | Fernando Alonso | Free Practice

"It's always great to drive around Suzuka. It's a fantastic circuit with a great atmosphere thanks to the amazing fans.

"The new surface is better. It's very smooth in the first sector's high-speed corners. In FP2 I lost the car into Turn 8 and I ended up in the gravel. We'll have a look at what happened and let's see what we can do tomorrow in Qualifying."

FP1

1:29.222

FP2

1:29.978

P17