Max Verstappen surprises with F1 pole in Japanese GP ahead of McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in a close finish.
Q1:
The first in F1 Japanese GP qualifying at Suzuka saw McLaren’s Oscar Piastri end up on top with a 1m27.687s lap ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, where both dropped McLaren’s Lando Norris to third. The Brit along with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc did not venture out for late push.
There was some serious trouble for Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar in the cockpit – an issue he complained about in FP3 as well. It was continuous all-through the session but he managed to make it in Q2 along with his teammate Liam Lawson, who finally made it out of Q1.
Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg (1m28.570s) was knocked out in Q1 in 16th ahead of teammate Gabriel Bortoleto (1m28.622s), as replayed showed a moment for the German at Turn 9. Haas’ Esteban Ocon (1m28.696s) was 18th ahead of Alpine’s Jack Doohan (1m28.877s).
Both their teammates made it in Q2, as did Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m29.271s). Replays showed that the Canadian at a moment on the grass at Turn 6 on his final push lap which ruined his chances. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton did one run on the medium tyres to save a set of soft.
Q2:
The second part in F1 Japanese GP qualifying saw the first run being completed with Norris at the front. The moment they were done with their first laps, the session was red-flagged due to another grass fire at 130R section, despite the organisers dampening the area.
It was Norris still on top after the session re-started with a 1m27.146s lap ahead of Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the Top 3. The dropzone saw Alpine’s Pierre Gasly (1m27.822s) in 11th from Williams’ Carlos Sainz (1m27.836s) and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso (1m27.897s).
While Hadjar made it in despite the seatbelt issue, teammate Lawson (1m27.906s) improved to 14th to finish ahead of Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m28.000s), who couldn’t stitch a good lap when it mattered. The Japanese driver set a slower lap than what he managed to do in Q1.
Q3:
The final part in F1 Japanese GP qualifying saw Piastri stamp authority to start the running with a 1m27.052s lap ahead of Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the Top 3. Norris could only manage fifth after first run after a scrappy lap to slot behind Russell.
The final run changed the course. It was Norris who took it from Piastri first but then Verstappen pumped in his best lap of 1m26.983s to take a surprise F1 pole in Japanese GP in Honda’s home event. He set a new lap record to beat Norris (1m26.995s) by 0.012s, who picked up after bad first lap.
The two were the only ones to dip it in the 1m26s barrier, as Piastri (1m27.027s) could only manage third. He was not far off as he finished just 0.044s off Verstappen. The Top 3 were a good margin away from Leclerc (1m27.299s) in fourth, as Russell (1m27.318s) rounded out the Top 5.
He had his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli (1m27.555s) in a good position in sixth after late push, as Hadjar (1m27.569s) ended up best of the rest in seventh. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton (1m27.610s) was only eighth from Williams’ Alexander Albon (1m27.615s) and Haas’ Oliver Bearman (1m27.867s) in the Top 10.
UPDATE: The stewards handed a 3-place grid drop to Sainz after impeding Hamilton. The Spaniard noted that he was not aware of the Brit’s push lap and was caught off by his approaching speed. The stewards feel that the team had ample time to alert their driver, but didn’t do so which warrants a penalty.
Sainz finished 12th and will now start in 15th which pushes Alonso, Lawson and Tsunoda up by one place to be 12th, 13th and 14th.
Here: https://x.com/fiadocsbot/status/1908441484421963792
