Ferrari had 1-2 with Sebastian Vettel taking F1 Japanese GP pole ahead of Charles Leclerc as Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas was only third from Lewis Hamilton.
Q1:
It was bright and sunny at Suzuka but a lot windy to start the first part of F1 Japanese GP qualifying on Sunday. It didn’t start off well through as Williams’ Robert Kubica crashed out at the final corner to bring out the red flag immediately.
Before the session got going again, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen brought out the red flag again with a crash at the same place due to a gust of wind. The Dane though managed to keep the car running and brought it in the garage but the damage was done.
Both Kubica and Magnussen couldn’t set a time then as others jostled for track position to set their quick lap times to make it into Q2. It was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc heading Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen.
It was close in the end as Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m29.822s) failed to make it through in 16th, missing out by a mere 0.099s. Racing Point’s Sergio Perez (1m30.344s) was just 17th as his alternate strategy didn’t work with Williams’ George Russell (1m30.364s) 18th.
Q2:
The second part of qualifying in F1 Japanese GP was a lot smoother with Bottas leading Mercedes teammate Hamilton and Red Bull Racing’s Alexander Albon in the Top 3. It wasn’t a good time for Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg though.
The German couldn’t better on his first lap at all due to a major issue as told by the team on the radio, with him only 15th with a 1m30.112s lap. Alfa Romeo Racing’s Antonio Giovinazzi (1m29.254s) was first to be knocked out in 11th.
He had teammate Kimi Raikkonen (1m29.358s) behind in 13th with Racing Point’s Lance Stroll (1m29.345s) in between as the Canadian got the better of his teammate as well. With Hulkenberg in 15th, Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat (1m29.563s) was 14th.
Q3:
The fight for pole got intensified as Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel laid a supreme benchmark with a 1m27.212s lap to lead teammate Leclerc by 0.323s with Bottas and Hamilton in third and fourth ahead of the Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Albon.
The second run was close at the front, especially between the Ferrari drivers as Vettel improved further to set a 1m27.064s to secure pole Japanese GP pole. He managed to beat Leclerc with a 1m27.253s – also for the first time in 10 races.
It is also only his second pole of the 2019 F1 season as Mercedes were left behind with Bottas (1m27.293s) in third ahead of Hamilton (1m27.302s) as Red Bull’s Verstappen (1m27.851s) and Albon (1m27.851s) were fifth and sixth – with an exact time.
McLaren’s Carlos Sainz (1m28.304s) ended up as the best of the rest in seventh with teammate Lando Norris (1m28.464s) just behind in eighth as Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly (1m28.836s) was ninth and Haas’ Romain Grosjean (1m29.341s) 10th.
Here’s how Friday panned out for the teams
FIFA, model cars, bowling, singing – F1 drivers consume a rare off day
