Max Verstappen achieved a brilliant lap at the Suzuka circuit, securing pole position for Sunday`s Japanese Grand Prix ahead of McLaren`s Lando Norris.
The reigning champion outperformed Norris by a mere 0.012 seconds with an impressive last-second attempt. This performance was unexpected considering the season`s trends and seemed to push the car to its absolute limits.
Verstappen expressed his surprise after qualifying, noting the team`s continuous improvements to the car`s balance throughout the sessions. He emphasized that pushing to the limit, and perhaps even slightly beyond, at Suzuka is exceptionally rewarding.
Suzuka is widely regarded as a true test for drivers in Formula 1, and Verstappen`s pole lap further strengthens his claim as one of the best drivers currently in F1.
Verstappen matched Norris` sector times in the first two sectors but gained the crucial fraction of a second in the final sector to secure pole position.
Norris, who leads the championship, will start in second place, followed by his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. Norris admitted he maximized his performance in Q3.
He congratulated Verstappen, acknowledging the exceptional lap and the good fight for pole position, although ultimately falling short. Norris felt he couldn`t have driven any faster.
The current Red Bull car is known for being challenging to drive at its limit, highlighted by Verstappen`s teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, qualifying in 15th place.
Ferrari`s Charles Leclerc will start fourth, ahead of Mercedes` George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli in fifth and sixth respectively.
Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar delivered a strong performance to qualify seventh, in front of his idol Lewis Hamilton, who will start eighth for Ferrari. Carlos Sainz received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Hamilton earlier in the session.
Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman of Williams and Haas completed the top ten.
Tsunoda, racing for Red Bull this weekend, struggled to put together a clean lap in Q2 and was eliminated before Q3.
Liam Lawson, who Tsunoda replaced at Red Bull, out-qualified Tsunoda upon his return to Racing Bulls, although both drivers were not satisfied with their 14th and 15th positions.
Tsunoda appeared to encounter traffic on his second Q2 lap and couldn`t improve his Q1 time.
Lawson was slightly faster than Tsunoda, despite driving a potentially slower car, but remained significantly behind his teammate Hadjar`s Q2 pace. Tsunoda was considerably slower than Verstappen in Q2 compared to their Q1 performance.
Alpine`s Pierre Gasly will start 11th, narrowly missing out on the top ten. Carlos Sainz qualified 12th, followed by Aston Martin`s Fernando Alonso in 13th.
Q2 was temporarily halted due to a grass fire near turn 130R, the fifth such incident this weekend. Sparks from the cars are suspected to be the cause, igniting dry grass beside the track.
Despite pre-emptive watering of the grass by the FIA, the fire occurred, leading to a session suspension until marshals extinguished the flames.
Rain is expected for Sunday`s race, which might prevent further fire incidents.
Nico Hulkenberg narrowly missed Q2 and will start 16th, alongside Sauber teammate Gabriel Bortoleto. Esteban Ocon will start 18th for Haas, and Jack Doohan returned after a crash in practice.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll will start last after going off track at the Esses.
Dominic Ashworth