You dont have javascript enabled! Please enable it!

Qualifying reports

2025 F1 season/2025 Japanese Grand Prix/Max Verstappen/Qualifying reports

Verstappen stuns Norris and Piastri to claim record-breaking pole at Suzuka · RaceFans

Admin
on

Max Verstappen broke the Suzuka track record as he denied McLaren a front row lock-out for the Japanese Grand Prix by just 12 thousandths of a second.

The Red Bull driver edged closer to the top of the times throughout qualifying and eventually eclipsed Sebastian Vettel’s 2019 benchmark at Suzuka to claim his first pole position since June last year.

However his new team mate Yuki Tsunoda fared little better than his predecessor Liam Lawson. He made it as far as Q2 but was eliminated in 15th place behind the driver he replaced.

The McLaren pair will line up behind Verstappen followed by Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and the Mercedes duo.

Q1

The Racing Bulls drivers, who had looked in great shape on Friday, suddenly found themselves with a fight on their hands to get out of Q1. Isack Hadjar was clearly in distress, repeatedly radioing his team about the discomfort he was experiencing in his cockpit. He eventually made it through in 13th, then climbed out of the car so his team could make him more comfortable.

His new team mate Liam Lawson reached Q2 for the first time this year, but it took everything he had. He was the last driver to join the track for their final runs, and beat Nico Hulkenberg to the last place in Q2 by a hundredth of a second.

That meant both Sauber drivers failed to progress any further. Esteban Ocon also failed to make the cut, as did Jack Doohan, who ended up almost seven tenths of a second off his team mate. Lance Stroll was the first driver to be eliminated after going off in the Esses.

Piastri set the pace to begin with as Russell separated the two McLarens. The Ferrari pair were next, Lewis Hamilton needing a second run on softs after starting the session on the medium rubber.

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q1 result

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q2

Verstappen revealed more of Red Bull’s pace as Q2 began, chopping nearly half a second off his best time from the previous session. That left him third after the initial runs, behind Norris and Russell.

A strong lap from Albon put him fifth, but Sainz in the other Williams lay in the drop zone after the first runs. Alonso and Bearman also needed to improve – as did Tsunoda and Lawson. They all had extra time to consider how best to approach their final runs as a grass fire caused the third red flag interruption of the day.

Tsunoda was among the first drivers to set a time in Q2 and his hopes of reaching the top 10 quickly faded. Both cars from his former team Racing Bulls beat his effort, including Lawson.

Sainz narrowly fell short of reaching Q3, then remained on the racing line as he cruised into the first corner, causing Hamilton behind him to take evasive action. The stewards will look into the incident after the session, and a penalty could cost Sainz 12th place on the grid.

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q2 result

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q3

Verstappen continued to find time as qualifying progressed, beating Russell’s opening effort as Q3 began. Piastri was quicker than both, however, producing a 1’27.052 which beat the six-year-old track record previously held by Sebastian Vettel.

His team mate Norris fell short with his first run, however, and couldn’t even beat Russell. Then Leclerc produced a surprise lap to take third place behind Verstappen, relegating Norris to fifth.

A superb first sector for Norris appeared to put him on course to salvage pole position and he duly crossed the line with another record-breaking lap. But further behind Verstappen was working on something truly special, and clipped another 12 thousandths of a second off the McLaren driver’s time to take a superb pole position.

Piastri could have taken it back, but a small mistake in the first sector left him four hundredths of a second down. The Chinese Grand Prix pole-winner therefore fell from first to third with his final run.

Leclerc took fourth, while Antonelli joined Russell on the third row of the grid. After his earlier travails, Hadjar salvaged an excellent seventh. Albon took ninth on the grid despite clipping the barrier as he approached the finishing line.

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q3 result

Go ad-free for just £1 per month

>> Find out more and sign up

Miss nothing from RaceFans

Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:

2025 Japanese Grand Prix

Browse all 2025 Japanese Grand Prix articles

2025 Chinese Grand Prix/2025 F1 season/George Russell/Oscar Piastri/Qualifying reports

Piastri claims first pole position as Russell denies McLaren a one-two · RaceFans

Admin
on

Oscar Piastri will start the Chinese Grand Prix from pole position after breaking the track record in Shanghai.

Q1

For the second qualifying session in a row this weekend, Liam Lawson was not only eliminated in Q1, but last of all. But in an incredibly close session, he was only two-tenths of a second away from making the cut for Q2.

Lawson’s final run was compromised when Pierre Gasly passed him before the last corner to lead him onto the start-finish straight. “I honestly don’t know why he needed to do that,” Lawson remarked.

Part of the answer was that it helped Gasly beat Lawson’s time. However that wasn’t quite enough for him to make the cut either. He led the drop zone at the end of Q1, six hundredths of a second away from progressing.

His team mate Jack Doohan spun during the session, and although he resumed he joined his team mate in elimination: Alpine the only team to lose both cars in the first round.

Two other rookies went no further. Having beaten his team mate in his first two qualifying sessions, Gabriel Bortoleto dropped out, as did Oliver Bearman.

In stark contrast to Lawson, Verstappen’s first run was so strong he didn’t need to join the rush at the end of the session. Norris moved to the top of the times during the final flurry, followed by the Racing Bulls of Isack Hadjar and Yuki Tsunoda.

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q1 result

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q2

Norris asserted himself in the second round of qualifying, producing a 1’30.787 to comfortably head the times. Piastri backed him up in second place to begin with, and although Verstappen split the McLarens by the end of the session, he was still over three tenths of a second slower than Norris.

Hamilton appeared to have the pace to join them at the front but had a poor run through the final sector. That wasn’t enough to offer an opportunity for those looking to escape the drop zone, however, as he went through in eighth along with team mate Leclerc.

Isack Hadjar produced an excellent lap at the end of the session to reach Q3 for the first time at an unfamiliar circuit, a few thousandths of a second quicker than team mate Yuki Tsunoda.

Alexander Albon nabbed the final place in Q3 by three hundredths of a second. Carlos Sainz Jnr was almost three tenths of a second behind in the other Williams, and so tight was the field that he will start down in 15th.

Between them were the four others who dropped out. Nico Hulkenberg was poised to perform heroics for Sauber but slipped two places to 12th on the final runs. Esteban Ocon claimed 11th while Fernando Alonso beat Lance Stroll as Aston Martin claimed the seventh row.

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q2 result

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q3

McLaren did better on their first runs in Q3 than they did in Melbourne. Piastri set the initial pace with a 1’30.703, while Norris all-but matched his best time from Q2, slotting into second.

They displaced Verstappen, who was first to set a flying time, but Hamilton fell short of demoting the Red Bull by a mere two hundredths of a second. Russell ran two preparation laps and went fifth, separating Hamilton from Leclerc. Antonelli’s best time was only good enough for ninth, and then his time was deleted for a track limits infringement.

Verstappen had to contend with Hadjar’s Racing Bulls being waved into his path as he headed out for his final run. The stewards noted a potential unsafe release.

Few drivers managed to improve on their final runs. Verstappen set the quickest time through the first sector, which Norris almost matched, but both lost time through the middle of the lap, so much so that Norris abandoned his effort. Hamilton also couldn’t find any more time.

Piastri could, however, setting a new track record with a lap of 1’30.641. But McLaren’s hopes of another front row lock-out were ended by Russell, who was one of the last drivers to finish his lap and split the two orange cars to join Piastri on the front row.

While the Ferraris claimed the third row, Hadjar impressively took seventh on the grid ahead of Antonelli, Tsunoda and Albon.

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q3 result

Go ad-free for just £1 per month

>> Find out more and sign up

Miss nothing from RaceFans

Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:

2025 Chinese Grand Prix

Browse all 2025 Chinese Grand Prix articles

2025 australian grand prix/2025 F1 season/Lando Norris/Max Verstappen/Qualifying reports

Norris survives Q3 scare to lead McLaren one-two ahead of Verstappen · RaceFans

Admin
on

Lando Norris led a McLaren one-two in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, but he suffered a scare in Q3 when his first lap time was deleted.

Q1

Norris set the pace in the first phase of qualifying but his advantage over his closest rivals was thin. Russell was only a few hundredths of a second slower after switching to soft tyres and set some competitive laps on the medium rubber earlier in the session. Verstappen also looked quick, almost matching Norris on his first soft tyre run.

Oliver Bearman’s dire weekend continued, albeit this time seemingly through no fault of his own. Having had a crash and a spin during practice, his participation in qualifying ended after one lap with a technical problem. Completing Haas’s misery, his team mate Esteban Ocon was slowest.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli limped into the pits with sparks flying from the rear of his W16, the legacy of bib damage apparently caused by an earlier kerb strike. Mercedes were unable to repair it before the end of the session, which compromised his final runs.

He slipped to 15th place in the closing moments, then fell victim to fellow newcomer Gabriel Bortoleto. The Sauber driver pinched the final place in Q2 from Antonelli with his final lap, beating his team mate Nico Hulkenberg on his debut in the process. Hulkenberg said his car “just didn’t feel very good, very connected,” said on his way back to the pits.

New Red Bull driver Liam Lawson joined those who were eliminated in the first round. He complained his tyres faded at the end of his final lap, and slid off at the penultimate corner before pitting.

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q1 result

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q2

Norris stayed on top in the second phase of qualifying, though his team mate led much of the session until the dying moments. The McLaren pair both lapped in the 1’15.4s, Verstappen’s Red Bull an ever-present threat just a tenth of a second behind.

Russell went through in fourth place. The stewards briefly suspected he had impeded Leclerc at turn three but ruled no investigation was needed. The Ferrari drivers followed him into Q3, Hamilton doing so despite a spin at the exit of turn 11.

That spin led to DRS being briefly deactivated, which disadvantaged some drivers, notably Jack Doohan, who dropped out in 14th place. Bortoleto was 15th after a hair-raising moment on the exit kerb at turn four.

Both Aston Martin drivers also went no further. Fernando Alonso damaged his floor earlier in the session which his team said impaired his final run. Newcomer Isack Hadjar missed the cut for Q3 by just six-hundredths of a second on his debut.

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q2 result

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q3

McLaren’s challenge looked like it was going to fall apart after their final runs in Q3. Piastri made a mess of the penultimate corner, slithering wide, and producing a 1’16.147 which his rivals made light work of. Norris appeared to be among them, but his 1’15.921 was deleted when he ran wide at turn four.

That handed an opportunity to their rivals, who grabbed it. Leclerc was first to beat Piastri, then Russell and finally Verstappen, whose 1’15.671 put him on top.

Verstappen’s effort was a tenth of a second off his best from Q2. “The guy in front of me kept going off everywhere,” he reported. That was Hamilton, who only managed seventh, 0.656s off.

With Norris sitting 10th without a time, race engineer Will Joseph suggested they avoid risking being held up in traffic. “Lando, why don’t we go first, do our own thing?” he asked. “Nope,” Norris replied confidently.

His confidence was repaid. Piastri produced a stunning final lap, thrilling the local fans with a 1’15.180 to claim the top spot. But Norris displaced him moments later, claiming pole position with a lap of 1’15.096.

Russell temporarily took third place off Verstappen until the Red Bull driver hit back. The Ferrari drivers were poised to claim the third row of the grid, then were stunned by a pair of brilliant laps by two midfielders.

First Alexander Albon claimed fifth on the grid, then Yuki Tsunoda took it away from him. Hamilton will therefore start his first race for Ferrari in eighth place.

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Q3 result

Go ad-free for just £1 per month

>> Find out more and sign up

Miss nothing from RaceFans

Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:

2025 Australian Grand Prix

Browse all 2025 Australian Grand Prix articles