Verstappen dashes to dominant Japanese GP pole

Max Verstappen has his sights set on restarting his record-breaking winning streak, getting half the job done this afternoon by dominantly capturing pole position in Japan. 

Suzuka is no stranger to hosting front-row lockouts, having done so on 15 occasions in the past.

Fresh off a 1-2 finish in FP3, Red Bull started qualifying with hopes of adding to the circuit’s total.

Qualifying 1:

Wasting no time, Kevin Magnussen flew out of the pitlane at the start of Q1.

He was alone in doing so, with the remaining 19 drivers watching on from their garages as they prioritised the benefits of the later-felt track evolution. 

Magnussen’s time was a subpar 1:31.203s, prompting Williams to send their challengers out. 

Just thirty seconds later, there was a slow-moving, but frantic, queue of cars in the pitlane as Oscar Piastri was forced to swerve to avoid an unsafely-released George Russell.

The moment would be investigated after the session.

With 10 minutes to go in the session, opening times began rolling in.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez continued on with their FP3 form as they shot to the top of the order.

Verstappen held the fastest time of a 1:28.866s.

Piastri, having cleared his mind from the earlier pitlane incident, demoted Carlos Sainz as he slotted into P3. 

The birthday boy’s time was almost six-tenths down on the #1 Red Bull, leaving room for Fernando Alonso to sneak in ahead.

Lando Norris had a dicey moment through Turns 16 and 17, losing the rear slightly as he bounced across the inside kerb.

Lando Norris during qualifying at the Japanese GP. Image: Zak Mauger / LAT Images.

Still, the #4 McLaren set the sixth-fastest time, almost a tenth ahead of the Mercedes duo.

At the back of the field, both Haas drivers found themselves in the elimination zone alongside Pierre Gasly who was running with a new power unit, Logan Sargeant in his repaired Williams and a sliding Zhou Guanyu.

As the grid returned to the pitlane, Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo were the drivers at risk.

With four minutes on the clock, the drivers sitting in P9 and below rejoined the session, setting off to secure a place in Q2.

That included Charles Leclerc, whose first lap only rewarded the Monegasque with the tenth fastest time. 

He secured the fastest middle sector overall, aiding him as he promoted his Ferrari into P4.

Sargeant temporarily improved, however, it wasn’t enough as he drifted back into a Q1 exit.

Ricciardo was also sweating in his cockpit after inheriting a place in the elimination zone.

He set personal bests across the lap, which was ultimately enough for the ninth-fastest time, ahead of Tsunoda.

That left Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen, Logan Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu in the elimination zone come the chequered flag.

Lance Stroll is knocked out in Q1 at the Japanese GP. Image: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images.

Qualifying 2:

He may not have beaten him on the Q1 timing sheets, but it was Perez ahead of Verstappen as the duo exited the pitlane to start their top-ten campaign. 

It was back to the usual order by the time they’d set their first laps, with Verstappen’s 1:28.740s just 12 milliseconds quicker than the Mexican’s time.

With 10 minutes on the clock, the entire field, barring Albon, was out on track, with most having completed their out laps and beginning their flying laps.

Piastri’s first Q2 time was a 1:29.148s, four-tenths behind the lead Red Bull and two-tenths behind his teammate who was sitting in P3.

As the Ferrari duo completed their first attempts, their times were still off the mark with Sainz in P5 and Leclerc in P7.

Sainz jumped on the radio to express his concerns about his throttle pedal, having detected an issue on the entry of Turn 13. 

Back in the elimination zone, Albon was yet to set a time with Hulkenberg also time-less after his lap was deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 13.

Both RBs were also in the bottom five, split by Ocon who celebrated his advancement to Q2 as if he’d claimed pole position.

Following a momentary lull, the bottom eight drivers headed out at the three-minute mark.

Ricciardo had the tough task of promoting himself from P13, sitting around a second behind the cut-off time.

Daniel Ricciardo during qualifying in Japan. Image: Clive Mason/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

Hamilton shot up to P3, the first of a few promotions from the bottom half of the grid. 

The Honey Badger was the next driver to cross the line, moving up into an at-risk P10.

His home-hero teammate demoted him by a painful 0.055s margin, leaving him set to start the Japanese Grand Prix from P11.

Joining Ricciardo in the elimination zone were Hulkenberg, Bottas, Albon and Ocon.

The final notable point from Q2 was the fact that Leclerc had drifted to P9, leading to a tense final few moments for the Ferrari garage.

Qualifying 3:

In the final dash for pole position, it was Hamilton who led the field out onto the iconic track for the final 10-minute qualifying session.

It was a wide run for the #44, kicking up dust at the exit of the hairpin which only rewarded him with a 1:28.766s.

That time was ultimately faster than Russell, however, half a second slower than Verstappen’s provisional pole.

Verstappen’s time of 1:28.240s held its own after the first round of attempts, with his teammate being pipped by Norris for a provisional P2.

Sainz slotted into P4 ahead of Piastri, with his teammate running a completely different strategy.

Leclerc remained in his garage until the 6-minute mark, heading out as the rest of the field returned. 

Despite setting the fastest middle sector, the Ferrari driver only managed to secure the seventh-fastest time, saying that was “the best [he] could do”.

Charles Leclerc during qualifying at the Japanese GP. Image: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images.

As he completed his lap, the rest of the grid emerged to start their second and final attempts at pole in Japan.

The fight was solely between Perez and Verstappen, with the pairing trading fastest and personal best sectors across the 5.8km lap.

Perez improved to P2, with Verstappen out of reach as he improved further on his time.

The official pole time set by the Dutchman was a 1:28.197s, 66 milliseconds ahead of Perez.

Norris, although not improving on his time, remaining in P3, set to start the Japanese Grand Prix from the second row alongside his former teammate, Carlos Sainz.

The youngest and oldest drivers will line up beside one another on Row 3, with Alonso claiming P5 ahead of Piastri in P6.

Next year’s Ferrari duo will start from P7 and P8, with Hamilton having both his future teammate and current teammate in P9 in his mirrors come lights out. 

Home hero Yuki Tsunoda, though having advanced to Q3, will start ahead of Ricciardo in P10, making for an exciting fight for the final points position tomorrow afternoon.

Lights out for the Japanese Grand Prix will take place at 3:00 PM, AEST.

Japanese Grand Prix Qualifying Results:

2024 Japanese Grand Prix

Friday, April 5

Practice 1: 13.30-14.30

Practice 2: 17.00-18.00

Saturday, April 6

Practice 3: 13.30-14.30

Qualifying: 17.00-18.00

Sunday, April 7

Grand Prix: 15.00

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