Cunoda shone on home soil. Sainz won again in an internal Ferrari duel. Verstappen was fastest in qualifying for the Japanese GP

After a two-week break, the series of races from the easternmost part of the world continues. From Melbourne, the queen of motorsport moves to the Suzuka circuit in Japan, which has been the backdrop for countless iconic F1 moments. This year, fans were able to watch Red Bull’s flawless performance on the sakura-blossomed circuit and with it, Max Verstappen’s fourth pole position of the season.

Just like a year ago, Verstappen didn’t arrive in Japan in the best of moods. Last season, the Japanese VC was on the agenda after the Singapore race, where Red Bull’s Carlos Sainz handed him his only defeat of the year. Verstappen finished 5th at Marina Bay then, it was his only non-stage finish last year.

This year Verstappen arrives in Suzuka from Melbourne, where he was forced to retire with a technical fault after four laps. So this year, the three-time world champion will also be looking to make amends in the land of the rising sun.

Q1

Verstappen, who has dominated all three previous qualifying sessions this season, set the pace from the start. In the first part of qualifying in Japan, he maintained a lead of over three tenths over second-placed Alonso.

Alonso’s teammate, on the other hand, has long struggled in Japan. Stroll has only made it through to Q3 once at Suzuka, and he was not so lucky today either. The Canadian driver set the 16th fastest time, which is the position he will take at the start of Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Stroll was joined in the five dropouts by riders from four different teams. The last row on the grid is made up of Sargeant and Chou. Ahead of them, Magnussen, disappointed after a good weekend in Australia where he scored a point for 10th place, will take 18th. Gasly is in 17th place.

Q2

In Q2, Verstappen’s lead was significantly reduced. While the championship leader was quicker than in Q1, his teammate was quicker still. The Mexican was only one hundredth of a second behind Verstappen.

Stroll’s retirement left one spot in the top 10 for a driver from a team in the lower half of the field. In a thrilling battle for the final spot, home hero Júki Cunoda emerged victorious. RB’s other driver, Daniel Ricciardo, whose position in the team is under threat after a series of disappointing performances, finished just behind Cunoda in 11th.

The Australian driver will be joined on the grid by Nico Hülkenberg in sixth. 13th place belongs to Valtteri Bottas, 14th to Albon. Ocon was the slowest in the second qualifying session.

Q3

In the battle for pole position, Charles Leclerc found himself in an awkward situation. The Monegasque driver had used more tyres than his team expected in the earlier parts of qualifying and therefore had only one set of new soft tyres left for Q3.

The Ferrari driver was unable to get the most out of his car in a single attempt, finishing only 8th. Carlos Sainz has been the better performer in the Italian stable so far this year, with the Spanish driver taking 4th place at the start.

As expected, the front row was taken by the Red Bull drivers. Pérez’s last lap looked promising for pole position, but he lost a costly tenth in the last sector which cost him first place. Verstappen won qualifying with a time of 1:28.197, 66 thousandths faster than Pérez’s time.

Lando Norris came closest to the Austrian. He will start his McLaren in third place and will be looking for his second podium finish in a row. The other orange monopoly will be 24 metres further back, Oscar Piastri sharing the third row with Fernando Alonso.

Mercedes still trails the three fastest teams. Hamilton narrowly missed Piastri’s time and took only seventh place. Russell’s third qualifying session didn’t go well at all and he finished 9th, 8 tenths behind Verstappen.

Source: F1TV