Isack Hadjar took the biggest hit of anyone in the “Most positions gained” table after the Japanese Grand Prix, falling eight places to 16th despite finishing the race. Up front, Max Verstappen’s recovery season stayed in control at +17 after starting 11th and finishing eighth.
By Camille Fontaine
The sharpest movement in the “Most positions gained” ranking after Suzuka belonged to Isack Hadjar — and it went the wrong way. The Red Bull driver dropped from eighth to 16th in the season standings (movement -8), and the numbers from Japan underline why: he started eighth and finished 12th, turning what could have been a consolidation round into a net loss for his season tally, now sitting at -3.
That dip matters because the early picture at the top is being defined by drivers repeatedly rescuing weekends from compromised grid positions — and Verstappen is setting the pace. He leaves round three still leading the ranking at +17, and Suzuka reinforced the pattern: grid 11 to P8, classified as finished over 53 laps, for another forward step that keeps his advantage intact. With Liam Lawson second on +12 and Oliver Bearman third on +5, Verstappen’s cushion remains significant after three races completed.
Behind the headline faller, the Suzuka update also reshuffled the lower end of the top 10. Pierre Gasly slid from seventh to 11th (movement -4) even though his season figure is still +1, while George Russell dropped from 10th to 15th (movement -5) with a season total now at -2. Their exits opened the door for a new group to step into the top 10: Esteban Ocon, Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Pérez sit sixth, seventh and eighth respectively on +2, while Oscar Piastri is 10th on +1.
| Driver | Team | Before | After | Δ | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 8 | 16 | -8 | -3 |
| George Russell | Mercedes | 10 | 15 | -5 | -2 |
| Pierre Gasly | Alpine F1 Team | 7 | 11 | -4 | +1 |
With three races completed, Verstappen’s +17 lead is being consolidated rather than threatened, especially with Lawson on +12 and Bearman on +5. The more immediate fight is around the top 10: Hadjar’s drop to 16th, plus Russell and Gasly falling out, has tightened the mid-table battle where +2 is now enough for sixth through eighth and +1 only just holds 10th.