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

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.

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Q1 result

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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.

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Q2 result

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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.

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Q3 result