Racing | Formula 1 | 2005 Japanese Grand Prix — Räikkönen Passes for the Win on the Final Lap at Suzuka

On the final lap of the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix, Kimi Räikkönen drew alongside Giancarlo Fisichella on Suzuka’s main straight and swept around the outside at Turn 1. The pass put the McLaren driver into the lead for the first time that afternoon. Seconds later, he crossed the line to complete one of Formula One’s most celebrated recoveries from the rear of the grid.

Rain arrived during Saturday qualifying just as several championship contenders were due to run. The official grid placed Ralf Schumacher on pole, Fisichella third, Fernando Alonso sixteenth and Räikkönen seventeenth. A first-lap accident brought out the safety car, but Räikkönen steadily advanced after the restart. He also passed Michael Schumacher around the outside of Turn 1 before the final pit-stop sequence left him chasing Fisichella.

Räikkönen closed the remaining gap through the final stint and made the decisive move on lap 53 of 53. The official classification records his winning time as 1:29:02.212. Fisichella finished 1.633 seconds behind, with Alonso third at 17.456 seconds. Räikkönen also set the fastest lap—1:31.540 on lap 44—while driving the McLaren MP4-20 Mercedes.

The result carried championship consequences even though Fernando Alonso had already secured the Drivers’ title at the previous round. Renault’s second and third places moved the team back ahead of McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship, 176 points to 174. The stewards also changed the lower order after the finish: Jacques Villeneuve received a 25-second penalty, and Takuma Sato was excluded following his collision with Jarno Trulli.

The race used Suzuka’s 2005 figure-eight Grand Prix configuration, officially listed at 5.807 kilometres per lap. Its 18 numbered turns included the Esses, Degner, Spoon, 130R and the Casio Triangle. This pin marks Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture—the exact venue where Räikkönen converted seventeenth on the grid into victory with a last-lap pass.

Sources: [Formula 1 race classification](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2005/races/788/japan/race-result), [Formula 1 starting grid](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2005/races/788/japan/starting-grid), [Formula 1 fastest laps](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2005/races/788/japan/fastest-laps), [Grandprix.com contemporary report](https://www.grandprix.com/races/japanese-gp-2005.html), and [Motor Sport database](https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/2005-japanese-grand-prix/).

Image: “Suzuka circuit map—as of 2005,” own work by Will Pittenger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Suzuka_circuit_map--2005.svg). The uploaded copy only replaces transparency with a white background; the diagram itself is unchanged. Its internal surveyed-line label reads 5.8153 km, while the official Grand Prix lap length is 5.807 km.