Vehicle control method and vehicle control device

A vehicle control method causes a controller to execute: processing of determining whether or not a first other vehicle traveling on a second lane, the second lane merging with a first lane on which an own vehicle travels in front of the own vehicle, is traveling diagonally in front of the own vehicle; and processing of, when determining that the first other vehicle is traveling diagonally in front of the own vehicle, controlling vehicle speed of the own vehicle in such a way that a front-rear direction distance from a rear-end position of the first other vehicle to a front-end position of the own vehicle in a front-rear direction of the first lane is shorter than a first target inter-vehicle distance in vehicle speed control to maintain an inter-vehicle distance to a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the own vehicle on the first lane.