Max Verstappen took a stunning pole position in Japanese GP qualifying after beating both McLarens.
Many questions were waiting to be answered during Japanese GP qualifying under the spring time sun. McLaren once again dominated the practice session, with Lando Norris emerging as the leading contender, could he take an early advantage over his team-mate in qualifying? The gap in final practice between the two papaya cars was just 0.026s.
George Russell and Mercedes looked set to be the nearest challenger to the McLarens, with Ferrari and Red Bull not far behind. Alpine’s Jack Doohan aimed for an error-free session after his dramatic crash on Friday.
The major talking point, however, remained at Red Bull. All the talk over Liam Lawson’s demotion and Yuki Tsunoda’s debut prepared to reach its crescendo in qualifying. All eyes would be on the Japanese driver on home soil to see if he could break the curse of the second Red Bull seat.
Q1
As qualifying began, the two Haas cars led the usual traffic jam out of the pit-lane, with the games between the drivers beginning early.
Esteban Ocon set the first lap of the session, immediately beaten by Oliver Bearman. The two Saubers were next up, with Bortoleto going fastest. However, the Ferraris were jumped to the front next, with Leclerc attempting to progress on medium tyres.
Norris jumped to the top of the timesheets, with Tsunoda setting the first times of the Red Bulls, with Verstappen finishing a tenth ahead. Oscar Piastri jumped ahead of Norris, only for the Mercedes of George Russell to put in a storming lap to move into second.
Down the order, the early pace-setters were now in the drop-zone after the first runs. Hamilton’s Ferrari was now on the fringes, however, a new set of soft tyres quickly resolved this. Bearman’s second run moved him to fourth.
The bottom five in the closing minutes was Isack Hadjar had seatbelt problems, was Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso ,Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar, and the second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll. The second runs were frantic, with Sauber and Alpine on the fringes if a mistake was made.
Doohan failed to progress as others improved. Liam Lawson’s final lap moved him out of the bottom five into P15. Both Saubers, along with Ocon, Doohan, and Stroll, were all eliminated.
Eliminated: Nico Hulkenberg, Gabriel Bortoleto, Esteban Ocon, Jack Doohan, Lance Stroll
Q2
Verstappen led the cars out at the start of Q2 of Japanese GP qualifying, still unhappy with the handling of his Red Bull. Tsunoda and Leclerc also started their laps at a similar time, allowing for an exciting comparison. THhe reigning champion jumped to the top of the times; his new team-mate finished sixth tenths behind.
Ferrari opted for used soft tyres for their runs, finishing similar pace to the second Red Bull. Norris jumped to the top of the times, while Piastri could only manage fourth, almost half a second behind his team-mate after running wide.
Race control brought out the red flag for yet another grass fire. As the session prepared to restart with eight minutes remaining, the bottom five comprised Carlos Sainz, Alonso, Bearman, Tsunoda and Lawson. A queue formed at the end of the pit lane ahead of the session, resuming after ten minutes, with both Ferraris at the head of the queue.
Most cars opted to sit in the garage as the minutes ticked away, leaving Ferrari in the unusual position of having the track to themselves and Alex Albon. A scruffy lap saw him move to fourth, Leclerc jumping him.
The rest of the pack had now made their way out onto the circuit. Tsunoda looked to be in trouble, off the time to progress due to a wide moment in turn two. He failed to move into Q3. Liam Lawson moved into tenth, the New Zealander pushing out Tsunoda. Bearman and Albon dropped the duo down further. Pierre Gasly missed out on progressing, with Sainz, Alonso, Lawson and Tsunoda all failing to progress.
Eliminated: Gasly, Sainz, Alonso, Lawson, Tsunoda
Q3
Bearman was waiting at the end of the pit lane, aching to put in a good lap. The majority of the contenders for pole position remained in the pits until the green light. The cars flooded into the pit lane as everyone tried to force their way into the queue.
Piastri leaped to the top of the times once the first runs were complete, with Verstappen, Leclerc, Russell all in front of Norris. The Briton ended the first runs almost half a second down.
Hamilton had to find more pace from sixth, Hadjar was seventh, with the in-form Bearman, eighth, with Albon and Antonelli rounding out the top ten.
The cars prepared for their final runs, and the mix of used and new tyres was reset as everyone once again waited at the end of the pit lane on fresh rubber.
Russell set off on his lap first. Running wide into the first corner, he compromised his lap and failed to improve. Hadjar moved into seventh with a fantastic lap.
Norris moved to the top of the timesheets, setting a new lap record. Verstappen and Piastri now tried to usurp Norris. The Dutchman took pole postion away from Norris, with Piastri remaining third. Leclerc was the lead Ferrari in fourth.
Antonelli moved into sixth, with Hadjar. Hamilton, Albon and Bearman rounding off the top ten.
Top 10: Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Russell, Antonelli, Hadjar, Hamilton, Albon, Bearman
