JAPANESE GP – Max Verstappen edges out the McLarens by two thousandths to take pole
Max Verstappen has taken a surprise pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix the four-time champion pipped both McLarens on his final attempt with a 26.983 going just two thousandths ahead of Lando Norris. Red Bull has looked so far this season to be on the back foot but pulled it out the bag to set a new track record and take his fourth successive pole at Suzuka.
The brilliance of Verstappen’s lap was also highlighted by the reaction from the Red Bull garage. His engineer Gianpiero Lambiase described it as “insane”, while team principal Christian Horner’s verdict was “unbelievable”.
Norris put himself just over a hundredth faster than his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, they looked to be the main rivals for pole with the Australian having the advantage on his first run in Q3. The top three being separated by less than half a tenth.
Norris meanwhile made a mistake at the First Turn (Turns One-Two) on his final attempt, the rear getting away from him and lost time before he had even started his lap. Then Norris went three hundredths faster on his second run taking provisional pole before he was pipped by the Dutchman
The remarkable nature of Verstappen’s effort was emphasised by the four-time world champion’s new team-mate Yuki Tsunoda only managed fifteenth on his Red Bull debut, finishing a place behind Liam Lawson, the driver he was switched with from junior squad Racing Bulls. Red Bull will be hoping that this kick starts their season which has been hit by turbulence and a car which has appeared difficult to drive and get the most out of.
Though the feeling remains that this is McLaren’s championship to lose, like Lewis Hamilton a fortnight ago in Shanghai Verstappen proved he could still play an important role this season. It will be a bigger challenge for the four-time champion to keep Norris and Piastri behind given the strength of McLaren’s race pace.
Verstappen said, “We tried the best we could to get the best possible balance with the car. It wasn’t easy. Every session we kept making little improvements and then the last lap was just flat out. Around here, being on the limit, or maybe just a little bit over the limit in places, is incredibly rewarding”
Norris “I’m happy. Congrats to Max. He did a good job. It’s hats off. You have to credit something when it’s a lap that good that he must have done. I feel I got everything out of the car. Just a tiny [margin] but Max did an amazing lap. For both of us [McLaren drivers] to be up there is good, but it’s not enough.”
Piastri, “It felt good, especially at the start of Q3. The last lap didn’t come together as I wanted but I think it is still all to play for in the race. We have a great car, we have good pace, but the other teams are now as far away as people think. This morning was pretty tight. Max has done a great job to end up on pole but we are still in the fight for a win. I don’t mind if it rains or not. I welcome whatever comes.”
Charles Leclerc put his Ferrari fourth the Monacan was just over seven hundredths behind Piastri as he went ahead of both Mercedes, and George Russell was two hundredths off the Ferrari. The Mercedes driver looked to be a challenger for pole, but an error on his final lap left him three-tenths off pole and ahead of his teammate Kimi Antonelli by just over a hundredth.
Isack Hadjar put his Racing Bull seventh the Frenchman half a tenth ahead of Hamilton, the seven-time champion’s mixed start to his time at Ferrari continuing with him just under seven tenths off Verstappen’s pole. He was five thousandths ahead of fellow Brits Alex Albon, who races under the Thai flag, by five thousandths and Ollie Bearman a further half a tenth off. The first time this season all the Brits have made it through to Q3.
The steward determined that Carlos Sainz blocked Hamilton and failed to move out the Ferrari’s way as he completed his lap and Hamilton started his during Q2. Up until that incident Hamilton had been closely matched with Leclerc in second qualifying, but it appeared to then unsettle him in Q3.
The seven-time champion saying “When I got to Q3 I wasn’t able to improve. Had a big snap oversteer in the middle sector on the first lap and then the second lap, I was only down in that sector. Not where I want to be.”
Pierre Gasly missed out on Q3 by seven hundredths as he finished behind his fellow Frenchman Hadjar at the end of the second part of qualifying which again descended into farce with the fifth red flag of the weekend caused by grass fire at the exit of 130R (Turn x).
Organisers and the FIA had considered a pre-emptive burning of the grass. Still, they decided there was not enough time before qualifying and too big a risk that advertising hoardings could catch fire if it was not properly controlled or monitored. Thankfully, only one stoppage was needed during qualifying, and it came at a time – midway through Q2 – where it didn’t majorly impact the competitive picture.
Gasly was just under a hundredth and a half ahead of Sainz, who was given a three-place grid penalty for impeding Hamilton.
Sainz was seven hundredths faster than his fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso. Much of the build up to this race has been focused on the swap between Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull, but Lawson out-qualified the Japanese driver by just under a tenth.
It was a disappointment for Tsunoda, who had been close behind Verstappen in final practice earlier on Saturday. But he was left half a second off and slowest during Q2 and looked to have the pace in Q1 to be in the top ten, while Lawson had only just scraped into the second part of qualifying.
Nico Hulkenberg missed out on Q2 after going a hundredth and a half behind the New Zealander, as he went half a second ahead of Sauber teammate Gabriel Bortoleto. Esteban Ocon couldn’t find the same pace as China or teammate Bearman leaving him three-quarters of a tenth behind the Brazilian.
Jack Doohan put his rebuilt Alpine nineteenth following his huge crash in FP2 yesterday, he was nearly four tenths faster than Lance Stroll.