After a week off early in the season, Formula 1 will resume on Sunday when the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix is held at the Suzuka International Racing Course. Lando Norris of McLaren won the first race of the 2025 F1 season and he’s looking to put an end to Max Verstappen’s four-year reign as world champion after giving his long-time friend a run in 2024. McLaren did overtake Red Bull Racing for the F1 constructors’ championship last season and they’ll field two of the top three favorites in the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix odds via FanDuel Sportsbook, with Norris priced at +120 and Oscar Piastri (the winner in China) at +300.
Meanwhile, Verstappen is priced at +195 after winning pole position. The next closest driver in the F1 odds is George Russell at +1800, followed by Charles Leclerc (+2200), so a clear trio of favorites has emerged. The lights go out at 1 a.m. ET on Sunday in Suzuka. Before analyzing the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix starting grid and making any Formula 1 picks, be sure to check out the latest 2025 Japanese GP predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s proven projection model.
Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary Formula 1 prediction model simulates every race 10,000 times, taking into account factors such as track history and recent results. It’s had a strong history of betting success in motorsports, correctly predicting 20 NASCAR winners since the 2021 season and its projected leaderboards have forecasted winners across multiple racing formats.
The model has been scorching hot when it comes to picking Formula 1 race events dating back to 2021 as well. It nailed both of Charles Leclerc’s wins in 2022, and at the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix, the model was strongly backing Verstappen as its top pick. The result: Verstappen dominated the field and ran away with a surprise victory.
The model followed that up by calling Verstappen’s win at the Rolex Emilia Romagna GP in April and then nailed his wins again in Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, the United States, Mexico and Abu Dhabi. It also called all 19 of Verstappen’s wins during the 2023 season and nailed each of his first seven wins in 2024.
It went on to predict Norris as a +200 winner in the Netherlands, a +190 winner in Singapore and a +250 winner in Abu Dhabi before projecting Norris for a +185 win at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix. Anyone who followed the model’s lead on those plays at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Now, the model has dialed in on the 2025 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix and just released its coveted picks and leaderboard projections. You can head to SportsLine now to see the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix projected leaderboard.
Top 2025 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix predictions
One surprise: The model is predicting a points finish (top 10) for Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso that would pay out +235 at DraftKings Sportsbook. Alonso is off to a sluggish start this season with no points in his first two starts, but it’s not purely for a lack of speed in his Aston Martin. Teammate Lance Stroll finished sixth in Australia and was eventually moved up to ninth to collect points again in China after three post-race disqualifications.
Last season, Alonso was ninth in the F1 standings and more than tripled up his Aston Martin teammate in points, and he was a stunning fourth in the standings in 2023. The 43-year-old Spaniard has earned points in each of his last three trips to the Suzuka Circuit and he’s also a two-time Japanese Grand Prix winner (though one of those victories came at Fuji Speedway in 2008). Look for the veteran to adjust after a week off to contemplate what went wrong in his two DNFs to start the season and get on the board with points for the first time in 2025. See more 2025 Japanese Grand Prix picks right here.
How to make 2025 Japanese Grand Prix picks
The model has revealed its win prediction and is also targeting a driver going off with double-digit odds to make a surprising surge up the 2025 Japanese GP leaderboard. Anyone who backs him could hit it big. You can find out who he is, and see all of the model’s F1 picks and predictions, at SportsLine.
So who wins the Japanese Grand Prix 2025, and which stunning longshot charges toward the front? Check out the latest 2025 F1 odds below, then visit SportsLine now to see the full projected 2025 Japanese Grand Prix leaderboard, all from the model that nailed all 26 of Verstappen’s 30 wins since the start of 2023 as well as four of Norris’s five wins the last two seasons, and find out.
2025 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix odds, grid, contenders
See F1 Japanese Grand Prix picks at SportsLine.
Lando Norris +120
Max Verstappen +195
Oscar Piastri +300
George Russell +1800
Charles Leclerc +2200
Lewis Hamilton +3200
Kimi Antonelli +11000
Yuki Tsunoda +11000
Isack Hadjar +14000
Alex Albon +20000
Pierre Gasly +42000
Carlos Sainz +42000
Fernando Alonso +42000
Oliver Bearman +42000
Nico Hulkenberg +50000
Liam Lawson +50000
Lance Stroll +50000
Gabriel Bortoleto +50000
Esteban Ocon +50000
Jack Doohan +50000
Where to bet on Formula 1 races
Here are some of the sportsbooks to bet on Formula 1 races, along with the various F1 sportsbook promos they currently offer.