FormulaNerds Cut To The Race Podcast

Japanese Grand Prix: F1 Qualifying Results

Find out how Qualifying went down for the Japanese Grand Prix below...

James Fiorucci 4 min read

Latest Episode | Cut To The Race Podcast

Max Verstappen set the fastest lap in Q3, securing a front row start alongside McLaren’s Oscar Piastri for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen topped all three practice sessions in the lead up to Qualifying (Image Credit: @F1 on X)

Championship leader Max Verstappen appears to be back on top form following a disappointing weekend in Singapore. The Dutchman has finished all three practice sessions in P1 this weekend, a strong indication that the drivability issues suffered around the Marina Bay Street Circuit was simply a one-off.

On his heels were a variety of teams and drivers, but it seemed as though Ferrari and McLaren were the next fastest outfits on track. Lando Norris impressed with at least the third quickest time in every session, while Carlos Sainz continued his solid form following victory at the Singapore Grand Prix with second in FP1.

In other news, Scuderia AlphaTauri have confirmed their driver lineup up for next year. The announcement was made earlier in the day at Yuki Tsunoda’s home race, who will remain with the Italian team alongside Daniel Ricciardo, who is currently injured with Liam Lawson as substitute.

Can Verstappen continue his perfect weekend thus far with pole position at the Suzuka International Racing Course? Or will another rival usurp the defending Champion at the front of the starting grid for tomorrow’s race? Read on to find out.

Q1

Dry conditions prevailed at Suzuka, allowing all 20 drivers to set out on the Soft compound of tyre for Q1.

First out of the pits was the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, back after his nasty crash one week ago during Qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix. He duly set a time of a 1:32.246 to go top of the timing sheets. Lawson was next to cross the line with a representative time, beating Stroll’s time with a 1:31.729.

A few minutes passed without seeing another flying lap, as teams bided their time to allow the track to ramp up in terms of grip levels.

Next to set a lap was Verstappen, who despite a mistake through the Degner curves came through to take P1 with a 1:29.878. His teammate Perez slotted into second, a 1:30.652 near enough a second down on the Dutch driver.

Norris split the two Red Bulls with a 1:30.063, while the two Mercedes cars moved up into fourth and fifth with nine minutes remaining.

Double Yellow flags were subsequently followed by a Red flag, as the cameras focussed on Logan Sargeant. The American had smashed into the barriers on the outside of the final corner, completely destroying his Williams FW45. No one to blame but himself for the crash. Both Ferraris were on a flying lap and were forced to abort.

Seven drivers were yet to set a time as the session got underway again several minutes later. Meanwhile, three drivers had their laps deleted for track limits infringements: Alexander Albon, Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly.

Track temperatures had dropped by two degrees centigrade, improving the potential for faster lap times. The Ferraris were eager to get going and lined up at the end of the pitlane for Q1 to restart.

Leclerc was out first, and put himself in a safe spot with a 1:30.393 for third position. Sainz went into fifth, while Lawson impressed by moving his AlphaTauri into P7 courtesy of a 1:30.972 time.

Gasly finally got a time on the board with a 1:30.843, good enough for seventh. Drivers continued to improve as track conditions ramped up.

Stroll moved up to fifteenth, but was subsequently knocked out by Tsunoda who put in a time for eighth place. Albon got a representative time out and dropped the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas into the bottom five.

Eliminated:

16. Bottas

17. Stroll

18. Hulkenberg

19. Zhou

20. Sargeant

Image

Q2

Verstappen was first out in Q2. He went into first place with a 1:29.964, slower than his earlier time. Leclerc, Sainz and Albon were the next drivers to set times, with the Ferrari pair besting the Williams.

The Mercedes duo were markedly slower than the Red Bulls and Ferraris, slotting into fifth and sixth. Perez’s time was just under four tenths slower than Verstappen with a 1:30.334.

Both McLarens moved ahead of Perez, with Piastri this time going quicker than his more experienced teammate in Norris. Tsunoda wowed his compatriot fans by muscling his AlphaTauri into fifth.

In the second phase of the session, Albon put in a decent lap to move into seventh, just over half a second slower than Verstappen’s top time. Piastri stopped in the pitlane, as the team decided he didn’t have to set another lap.

Leclerc beat Verstappen’s time to move to the top of the timings with a 1:29.940, while Perez set a time just a single millisecond behind his teammate.

Fernando Alonso had to improve down in P13, and duly did with a 1:30.465 to go up to eighth. So did Magnussen, but his foray in the top ten didn’t last long, as both Mercedes improved to make it into Q3.

Eliminated:

11. Lawson

12. Gasly

13. Albon

14. Ocon

15. Magnussen

Image

Q3

Verstappen out first yet again, as he set a benchmark time for all to aspire to: a 1:29.012. Perez could only manage a 1:30.423, while Piastri was less than half a second down on the Championship leader. Norris slotted into third with a 1:29.493.

Alonso and George Russell set out on new Soft tyres. The Briton was the first of them across the line, a 1:30.219 moving him into fourth place. Alonso wasn’t quite as quick, slotting into sixth with a 1:30.560.

The two Ferraris were yet to set a time with just a couple of minutes left on the clock. A 1:29.542 for Leclerc jumped him up to just behind both McLarens. Teammate Sainz moved ahead of Russell to claim fifth, but lost the position to Perez as the chequered flag was waved. Meanwhile, Verstappen opened the gap to the rest of the field by another tenth with three purple sectors with a 1:28.877. A superb pole position from the Dutchman.

Final Qualifying Classification

Image

Full Qualifying results can be found here.

Feature Image Credit: @F1 on X

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This website is unofficial and is not associated in any way with the Formula 1 companies. F1, FORMULA ONE, FORMULA 1, FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GRAND PRIX and related marks are trade marks of Formula One Licensing B.V.

Zeen is a next generation WordPress theme. It’s powerful, beautifully designed and comes with everything you need to engage your visitors and increase conversions.

Back to the top