Max Verstappen took a stunning pole position at Suzuka as the four-time world champion bumped the McLarens off top spot ahead of Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, much to everyone’s surprise.
Verstappen had been complaining all weekend about his car’s lack of balance and front-end grip. But, when it mattered, the 27-year-old was supreme once again, setting a new lap record around Suzuka.
It was Verstappen’s first pole since Austria last summer, and even he sounded surprised. “What a lap Max, unbelievable. You’ve done it,” his team principal Christian Horner told him over the radio.
“Pure class,” his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase added.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will start P2 and P3 respectively and will be hopeful of making it past the Red Bull on Sunday, with the McLaren’s race pace having looked superior all weekend. But it will not be easy given Verstappen’s experience and the Red Bull’s impressive straight-line speed.
Elsewhere, Charles Leclerc took P4, 0.3sec quicker and four places better than Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton.
All the talk heading into the weekend was about Red Bull’s decision to switch Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, with the Japanese stepping into the second Red Bull seat and Lawson moving to sister team Racing Bulls.
In the end, both men went out in Q2, while both their teammates made it into Q3. Lawson will start 14th and Tsunoda 15th. Britain’s Ollie Bearman did brilliantly to get his Haas into Q3 and will start P10.
More to follow...
09:06 AM BST
Top five for tomorrow’s race
-
Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
-
Lando Norris (McLaren)
-
Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
-
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
-
George Russell (Mercedes)
09:04 AM BST
The thoughts of George Russell, who will start fifth tomorrow
“I was really disappointed with P5 as I have felt great all weekend. It got a bit cooler in P3, I tried something different with the tyres and it just did not work. That is frustrating but it could be worse.
“P5 it not a terrible place to start and with some rain potentially around tomorrow anything can happen. We are definitely there or thereabouts to fight for the podium, maybe not the win.”
08:56 AM BST
Haas’ Oliver Bearman speaking to Sky Sports
“This track is a joy. I loved every moment and the car was responding to everything I did which is always a good feeling. I had so much fun.
“I think we can stay in the top 10 tomorrow. We have been less confident on the soft compounds but I think we can have a good race.”
08:55 AM BST
Second and third for McLaren
08:54 AM BST
Verstappen’s pole moment
08:53 AM BST
Stunning pole for Verstappen
08:53 AM BST
The thoughts of Lewis Hamilton, who qualified eighth
08:50 AM BST
Isack Hadjar, who will start seventh tomorrow, speaking to Sky
“The lap I did in Q1, with what I had was unbelievable! I realised I had an issue [with his seatbelt] in Turn 3 and nearly crashed actually. I jumped out, jumped back in after Q1. Every lap we did, we made a nice improvement with the balance.
“This is a track where you feel something different and you are like ‘I will add a tiny bit more everywhere’ and you just hope it sticks. I was 100 per cent and managed to be brave enough to make an extra step.”
08:45 AM BST
Reaction from McLaren team principal Andrea Stella
“It was a positive qualifying session, we were definitely in contention for pole position. It shows we are very competitive and in a good position.
“The grass fires and the interruptions are a concern. The rain will help. Even it it does not rain in the race, it will still be wet. We have proved we can compete in wet conditions so we must be ready.”
08:41 AM BST
Yuki Tsunoda speaking post-qualifying
08:40 AM BST
Verstappen’s pole lap
08:35 AM BST
Christian Horner on Yuki Tsunoda, who will start 15th tomorrow
“Certainly in Q1 he [Tsunoda] looked competitive, he was within a tenth of Max [Verstappen] and just once place behind.
“He did not improve in Q2 and I think he was a bit quick into Turn One and could not recover. I think he could comfortably have made the top 10 today but he can still race well tomorrow. He has done very well.”
08:33 AM BST
Weather for the race
There is some rain due tomorrow in Suzuka but there is still some uncertainty as to when it will hit and how much. One thing we can be sure of is the rain will prevent any red flags tomorrow for grass fires!
08:32 AM BST
Reaction from Christian Horner on Sky Sports
“Unbelievable! We did not expect that. It was an outstanding lap from Max [Verstappen], one of his best laps in qualifying ever.
“He extracted very ounce of performance and getting pole was against the run of form we have been seeing and a big boost for the team.
“We have turned the car upside down and Max and his team have done an amazing job”
08:29 AM BST
1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve speaking on Sky Sports
“A lot of it has to do with the lower downforce rear wing. He got his car through the corners and had the top speed.
“You can see the smile he had in his eyes. It is amazing to see a driver with so many wins and championships, that he still has that pleasure.”
08:24 AM BST
So tight for pole
No-one expected Verstappen to be in the battle for pole with the McLarens but he pulled out a stunning lap at the death. Here are the final times in Q3 for the top three:
-
Max Verstappen 1:26.983
-
Lando Norris 1:26.995
-
Oscar Piastri 1:27.027
Just 0.044 between Verstappen on pole and Piastri in third.
08:22 AM BST
The thoughts of Oscar Piastri
08:20 AM BST
Lando Norris speaking post-qualifying
08:19 AM BST
Thoughts of polesitter Max Verstappen
08:18 AM BST
Bottom ten
11. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
12. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
13. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
14. Liam Lawson (RB)
15. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
16. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
17. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
18. Esteban Ocon (Haas)
19. Jack Doohan (Alpine)
20. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
08:15 AM BST
Top ten
-
Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
-
Lando Norris (McLaren)
-
Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
-
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
-
George Russell (Mercedes)
-
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
-
Isack Hadjar (RB)
-
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
-
Alex Albon (Williams)
-
Oliver Bearman (Haas)
08:13 AM BST
Stunned
08:09 AM BST
Verstappen takes pole
That is a complete surprise! No-one saw that coming as the four-time world champion takes his fourth consecutive pole by 0.012 ahead of Norris. Piastri improves a little bit from his own time but is third. Just 0.044 between the top three. McLaren will be stunned that they have not secured pole.
08:08 AM BST
Norris goes fastest, for now...
He goes quickest, just 0.057 ahead of his teammate, who is yet to come across the line.
08:07 AM BST
Norris sets purple sector
The McLaren man is fastest in the first sector whilst Russell up ahead is not setting the timesheets alight.
08:05 AM BST
Perplexing
Norris was on a new set of tyres but is 0.467 down on Piastri’s quickest time so far in Q3. Norris did run a little wide at turn seven which would have cost him a couple of tenths. Let’s hope we do not get another grass fire at just the wrong moment. One more run and the drivers are making their way out. Piastri took his first pole at the Chinese Grand Prix last time out and is on provisional pole for a race that falls on his 24th birthday tomorrow. He is the last man out of the garage and so will be the last driver across the line.
08:01 AM BST
Piastri quickest after first runs
Russell sets a time of 1:27.318 but is knocked off by Verstappen and then by Piastri, who goes two tenths faster than Verstappen with a 1:27.052. Norris must have made a mistake somewhere as he is nearly half a second off Piastri. Leclerc moves himself into third.
07:59 AM BST
First runs
Russell will be the first of the big hitters to set a lap time in Q3. He has looked in decent form this weekend but has got a job on his hands to stop the McLarens from getting pole.
07:56 AM BST
Time for Q3!
The battle for pole is upon us and Norris is looking in ominous form. He found roughly nine tenths of a second between Q1 and Q2. Bearman is the first man out onto the track for Q3. Fellow rookie Hadjar is also into the final part of qualifying despite his comfort issues.
07:49 AM BST
Five drivers eliminated in Q2
11. Gasly (Alpine)
12. Sainz (Williams)
13. Alonso (Aston Martin)
14. Lawson (RB)
15. Tsunoda (Red Bull)
Tsunoda swapped with Lawson for this race and in theory is in the faster car but has qualified behind the man who he has replaced.
07:48 AM BST
Great job from youngsters
A number of the full-time rookies have performed admirably as Antonelli, Bearman and Hadjar are all through into Q3.
Sainz, who has not made it into Q3, has been noted by race control for impeding Hamilton into turn one. Hamilton was through anyway but Sainz could be in trouble there as he made no attempt to move aside and clearly blocked someone on a flying lap. Looking back at the replays that looks like a slam dunk that Sainz will be given a penalty.
07:46 AM BST
Tsunoda out
He has been promoted into the Red Bull team but his hopes of getting into Q3 at his home race are dashed. Will the man who he replaced at Red Bull, Lawson, get ahead of him? Yes he will but Lawson is knocked out of the top ten and is out.
07:45 AM BST
Pressure on Tsunoda
The current fastest man in Q2 Norris has stayed in his garage and he is the only man not out on track at the moment. Tsunoda is under pressure on his home track.
07:43 AM BST
Ferraris safe or not?
Only three drives immediately made their way out onto the track; the two Ferraris and the Williams of Albon. Hamilton moves into fifth as his teammate Leclerc jumps just above him into fourth. Will that be enough for them? It should be but the track is constantly ramping up.
07:39 AM BST
Back under way
The marshals have done their job for now but will we get through the rest of qualifying without another red flag? There is some rain dur in Suzuka between the end of qualifying and the race tomorrow which should hopefully reduce the risk of this problem during the race.
The green light is showing at the end of the pit lane and the Ferraris are straight out.
07:34 AM BST
Red flag
We have had a number of problems this weekend with the grass catching fire and, for the first time in qualifying, we now have a red flag. It is a new place this weekend where the grass has caught fire, just around the very fast corner of turn 15. The marshals are now out to sort it out with all the cars back in the garage.
07:32 AM BST
Piastri fourth
Piastri goes only fourth, nearly half a second behind his teammate Norris. He ran a little wide at turn nine which would have cost him time. Russell goes into second place, two and a half tenths off Norris.
The two Ferraris are in sixth and seventh, on used tyres. Home favourite Tsunoda has not had the best first run and is down in 14th. Improvement needed.
07:30 AM BST
Norris quickest
Verstappen is the first man across the line and does a 1:27.502. He was on pole last year but it would be a big surprise if he repeated that feat today. Norris then sets three purple sectors and goes more than three tenths faster than Verstappen.
Piastri and Russell are out on their first flying laps in Q2...
07:27 AM BST
Seatbelt problems
Hadjar was complaining throughout Q1 about being uncomfortable and his team RB have confirmed there is an issue with his seatbelt. He is though into Q2.
07:25 AM BST
Time for Q2!
The green light is showing and Verstappen is the first man out onto the track in the second part of qualifying. This is a home race in part for Red Bull with their partnership with Honda but this will be the final year of their partnership. Next year Honda will become Aston Martin’s engine partner.
07:22 AM BST
Five drivers out in Q1
16. Hulkenberg (Sauber)
17. Bortoleto (Sauber)
18. Ocon (Haas)
19. Doohan (Alpine)
20. Stroll (Aston Martin)
07:20 AM BST
Antonelli safe
Antonelli puts together a decent lap and is comfortably into the top ten, safely securing his place in the second part of qualifying
Hadjar may been in some pain but he has made it into Q2. His new RB teammate Lawson just scrapes out of Q1. Stroll, Doohan, Oco, Bortoleto and Hulkenberg are the five men out.
Piastri was fastest in Q1 as he set a quick lap near the end of the session with Norris staying in his garage.
07:16 AM BST
Antonelli under pressure
The teenage Italian is in the bottom five and this run has to count. It would be a big shock if a Mercedes went out in Q1. Meanwhile Hadjar is still not happy as he tells his RB team over the team radio.
07:13 AM BST
Bottom five with five minutes left
16. Lawson
17. Alonso
18. Antonelli
19. Hadjar
20. Stroll
Hadjar has been complaining about not being comfortable and we have seen shots of him back in the garage in some discomfort.
07:12 AM BST
Norris fastest
He sets a 1:27.845 to go top of the timesheets and in behind him Leclerc goes second, just under a tenth behind. The likes of Piastri, Russell, Verstappen and Tsunoda are all still in the pits.
07:11 AM BST
Hamilton back out
The seven-time world champion did his first run on the mediums but has had to go out on a set of softs. The times are really starting to ramp up...
07:09 AM BST
Top five
-
Piastri 1:28.143
-
Russell +0.058
-
Norris +0.090
-
Verstappen +0.217
-
Leclerc +0.428
07:08 AM BST
Piastri top of the timesheets
Verstappen tucks in behind Norris to go into second place but about 30 seconds later Piastri goes fastest, just under a tenth of a second faster than Norris. Russell then comes across the line and splits the two McLarens.
Verstappen has just come onto the team radio and complained about the front tyres not gripping.
07:05 AM BST
Norris goes quickest
The two Ferraris go one and two temporarily until Norris goes fastest by more than three tenths of a second. Hamilton did his time on a medium when everyone else is on softs but will that be enough as the times will ramp up?
07:04 AM BST
Doohan out on track
The Australian had a huge crash at 185MPH in second practice yesterday but has been passed fit to take part today. He will be under pressure though and looks a likely candidate to be knocked out in Q1.
07:02 AM BST
Going out early?
It will be fascinating to see how the teams approach this. The marshals have been hard at work dampening some of the grass by the track but is there still a danger of grass fires so will the teams want to get their drives out early to bank an early lap in case there is a red flag?
There are huge cheers as Tsunoda makes his way out of the garage and onto the track in his Red Bull.
07:00 AM BST
Green light!
Qualifying in Suzuka is under way! This is always one of the best qualifying sessions of the season with this being one of the drivers’ favourite tracks. From last season to this one they have resurfaced the first sector so they will be rapid through the iconic first sequence of S’s.
06:57 AM BST
Christian Horner speaking to Sky
“It was very clear Liam [Lawson] was struggling badly so we took the decision we needed some experience in the car and for Liam to continue his development with Racing Bulls.
“We were asking too much, too soon of Liam. We still believe he is a driver of real talent but the car is not where we want it to be and he was really struggling with that.
“We took control of the situation and Yuki [Tsunoda] has been mature in the sessions so far, giving good feedback. He has done what we asking for.”
06:56 AM BST
Five-minute klaxon
Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix is just five minutes away!
06:54 AM BST
Hamilton ‘losing faith’ in Ferrari is a ludicrous claim
It has been a difficult couple of race weekends for the 40-year-old. Hamilton struggled to get to grips with the SF25 in Melbourne, losing any confidence he had built up over the course of the weekend when the rain came down heavily on the Sunday.
Then, after winning the sprint in Shanghai to get his career in red up and running, Hamilton and Ferrari went off in the wrong direction and he struggled again in the main race – which then ended in farce anyway when both he and team-mate Leclerc were disqualified for technical issues.
One can well imagine how miffed he would have been about that error. But one can also imagine how sensitive Hamilton would be to any suggestion that he was furious with his team for committing it.
He is still only two races into his Ferrari career. He is desperately trying to build friendships and trust. It is why he was so irked post-Melbourne by suggestions that he was angry with new race engineer Riccardo Adami.
For more from Tom Cary, click here.
06:50 AM BST
McLaren leading the way through two rounds
06:49 AM BST
Marshals busy
06:44 AM BST
Verstappen confirms disagreement with Red Bull over Lawson axe
Max Verstappen has doubled down on his decision to “like” an Instagram post accusing Red Bull of “bullying” Liam Lawson.
The four-time world champion reacted to the post after his team dropped the 23-year-old Lawson to Racing Bulls after just two races of the season.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen said his interaction with the post had been no accident.
“I liked the comment, the text, so I guess that speaks for itself, right? It was not a mistake,” the Dutchman said.
Tom Cary has more on Red Bull’s switch after just two races.
06:40 AM BST
How things stand going into this weekend
06:35 AM BST
‘Norris vs Piastri another McLaren battle royal that could end in tears’
Lando Norris leads the drivers’ championship on 44 points, with Oscar Piastri fourth, 10 points behind the Briton. But that is largely down to the fact that Piastri spun during the rain-affected Australian race, finishing ninth as Norris won.
Until that spin – which of course he ultimately has to take the blame for – the Australian had looked to be a threat to Norris, even being instructed to hold position at one point after he closed.
In China, Piastri was clearly the more comfortable of the two McLaren drivers, finishing second in the sprint and winning the feature race.
For more from our senior sports correspondent Tom Cary, click here.
06:31 AM BST
Collins: I felt like a fraud when I moved from pit wall to punditry
For more than a decade, Bernie Collins accrued a wealth of experience at the highest level of Formula One. In 2014 she was performance engineer to 2009 world champion Jenson Button at McLaren before eventually becoming Aston Martin’s head of race strategy.
Her most glorious moment in F1 was the chaotic Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020 when Sergio Pérez went from last on the first lap to take a memorable maiden victory for both himself and Racing Point. Yet when Collins moved from the pit wall to in front of the camera two years ago, becoming an on-screen analyst for Sky Sports F1, the transition was an uneasy one.
“For a long time, I felt like I was a bit of a fraud, not doing enough work on the pit wall. I felt a bit like I wasn’t contributing as much to the sport. Before, the decisions I made directly affected the outcome of the race,” she says.
Luke Slater has sat down for an interview with Sky Sports’ Bernie Collins about the transition from the pit wall to punditry.
06:26 AM BST
Schedule at the start of the season
Round one: Australia- Winner: Lando Norris
Round two: China- Winner: Oscar Piastri
Round three: Japan
Round four: Bahrain Sunday 13th April
Round five: Saudi Arabia Sunday 20th April
Round six: Miami Sunday 4th May
06:23 AM BST
Practice results
First Practice
-
Lando Norris (McLaren)
-
George Russell (Mercedes)
-
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
-
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
-
Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
-
Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
Second Practice
-
Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
-
Lando Norris (McLaren)
-
Isack Hadjar (RB)
-
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
-
Liam Lawson (RB)
-
George Russell (Mercedes)
Third Practice
-
Lando Norris (McLaren)
-
Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
-
George Russell (Mercedes)
-
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
-
Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
-
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
06:20 AM BST
Fire concerns?
The marshals are very busy ahead of qualifying, trying to dampen parts of the grass around the track where the sparks are causing the grass to catch fire. Practice two was hampered by two red flags as was third practice earlier and so there is legitimate concern about qualifying being affected by the grass catching fire. So desperate are the organisers that the marshals are filling anything they can find with water to go and dampen the grass, including traffic cones! Let’s hope their temporary measures do the job as qualifying will be chaos if we keep having red flags.
06:14 AM BST
Suzuka qualifying preview
Good morning and welcome to coverage of qualifying from the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. McLaren have so far dominated the first two races of the season as they currently sit atop the constructors standings after winning in both Australia and China. So far this weekend their dominance has continued with Lando Norris, who leads the drivers championship after two races, fastest in first and second practice and Oscar Piastri, who was victorious in China last time out, fastest in second practice.
The big story going into the weekend was Red Bull’s decision to swap Yuki Tsunoda for Liam Lawson. The latter had two tough weekends to begin the season in Australia and China and has now found himself demoted from the senior Red Bull team into the Racing Bulls, having only replaced Sergio Perez over the offseason. Tsunoda, at his home Grand Prix, has been promoted from the Racing Bulls into the senior team. When Red Bull decided to replace Perez at the end of last season, Lawson got the nod over Tsunoda. Lawson has admitted his surprise at being demoted after just two races.
“It was definitely a shock, honestly. It is not something that I saw coming,” Lawson told Sky Sports. “The discussions we were having were not really leaning in this direction, so it was definitely not something that I expected. Obviously, I would have loved more time. We had a rocky testing. We had a rocky first weekend in Melbourne with practice. And then obviously China was a sprint. But obviously, it is not my decision, so I am here to make the most of this one.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has admitted they asked too much of Lawson and that this is not the end of the road for the New Zealander.
“Of course, it is horrible because you are taking away someone’s dreams and aspirations, but sometimes you have got to be cruel to be kind, and I think that in this instance, this is not the end for Liam,” Horner told Sky Sports. “I was very clear with him, is that it is a sample of two races. I think that we have asked too much of you too soon. We have to accept, I think we were asking too much of him too soon. And so this is for him to, again, nurture that talent that we know that he has, back in the Racing Bulls seat, whilst giving Yuki the opportunity and looking to make use of the experience that he has.”
The pressure is ramping up on Alpine’s Jack Doohan, who suffered a high-speed crash at turn one in second practice. It has not been the easiest of starts to the season for full-time rookie Doohan, with rumours already abound that he could be replaced mid-season by Franco Colapinto. That was one of four red flags in second practice as Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso got beached in the gravel and then some grass caught fire twice! Third practice was also disrupted twice earlier today with the grass catching fire
Qualifying from Suzuka begins at 7am BST.
