REPORT: Points Streak Continues in Suzuka

The 2025 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka proved to be a relentless 53 laps, with much cooler temperatures allowing drivers to push throughout the race.

That being said, it remained a relatively uneventful Grand Prix, with few overtakes made over the course of the afternoon. Alex Albon converted his grid slot into a ninth-place finish to continue his points-scoring run, while teammate Carlos Sainz gained one place to finish P14.

Starting from P9, Alex held his position through a clean opening lap and cycled up the order as he extended his first stint longer than those ahead. Eventually pitting from P5, he made well-judged overtakes on Gabriel Bortoleto, Esteban Ocon and Liam Lawson to climb back through the field.

Alex managed his final stint on the hard tyres effectively, bringing it home in P9 and adding two valuable points to the team's tally.

Carlos Sainz, starting from P15, had a more eventful race. An early tussle saw him lose a position to Nico Hulkenberg, but he responded quickly, reclaiming the place on lap 2.

Throughout the race, Carlos found himself caught in DRS trains, making overtaking particularly difficult. Running long in the opening stint, he made his sole pit stop on lap 34 for a set of soft tyres.

This gave him the grip to go racing in the closing stages, as he continues to adapt to his new machinery. Overtakes on Liam Lawson, Nico Hulkenberg and Jack Doohan saw him surge to P14 by the chequered flag.

Reflecting on the race, Alex shared: “We’ve been experimenting with shift settings all weekend and we thought we’d finally landed on something we were happy with.

"Turns out, it actually felt much better in Qualifying than it did in the race. The car wasn’t easy to drive in the conditions either. In Practice on Friday, the wind suited us more, but it was completely different today.

"We still scored points though! It just shows that even on days when we’re not that optimal, we’re able to score points. In that sense, I’m very happy.”

Carlos Sainz echoed the sentiment of progress, despite a tougher afternoon, commenting: "Unfortunately, as expected, it was a difficult race stuck in traffic after a costly Saturday, with some details to polish in Qualifying and then the penalty.

"On a positive note, I think the pace was there today. I was comfortable with the car, managed to do some good overtakes and overall learnt a lot out there on track.

"Now the focus is to carry the positive feeling of this weekend on to the next GPs and build from here. Once I start putting everything together, I know better results will come. On to Bahrain!”

Team Principal James Vowles concluded by stating: “It’s great to add another two points to our championship tally, with another strong and consistent performance from Alex.

"Near enough all cars finished in Qualifying order and my reflection on the weekend is we didn’t get it all right with Carlos in traffic yesterday and that’s on us as a team.

"In positive news, Carlos’ performance is in a strong place and I can’t wait for the next two races to see how we as a team perform and bring it all together.

"It’s clearly an incredibly close championship battle around us and a few milliseconds is making all the difference, so we’ll do everything we can to dig deep and find everything for the next few races.”