F1 Japanese GP: Verstappen grabs surprise pole to defeat the McLarens

Max Verstappen stormed to a surprise pole position at the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix as the reigning world champion defeated both McLarens to grab top spot.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had been setting the pace during practice, but it was Verstappen who delivered when it mattered, putting in a new track record of 1m26.983s to secure his fourth successive Suzuka pole.

Early championship leader Norris will start alongside the Dutchman having been pipped by just 0.012 seconds, while Chinese Grand Prix winner Piastri is third alongside Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.

Before Verstappen’s fine effort, it was Mercedes that had been worrying the McLaren duo but George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli could only make the third row.

There had been plenty of talk about Red Bull’s decision to switch Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda heading to Japan but neither made it into Q3, instead it was the Racing Bull of Isack Hadjar who impressed to go seventh, despite reporting a cockpit issue during the opening session.

Lewis Hamilton will be disappointed to have only managed eighth, ahead of the Williams of Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman, the Haas man making it three rookies in the top 10.

Once again, the hour-long session descended into farce when a fifth red flag of the weekend for a trackside grass fire caused delays in Q2.

After the latest incident had been dealt with, there was plenty of improvement across the board, meaning both Lawson and Tsunoda were eliminated.

Lawson will start a place ahead of his Red Bull replacement having gone 14th on his return to Racing Bulls, while Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso also failed to make the top 10 shootout.

Lawson eked out of Q1 in 15th place, just 0.016s faster than the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg, whose team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto was also eliminated.

Esteban Ocon, having finished fifth last time out in China, had to settle for 18th on the grid this time around having been unable to match the pace of Bearman in the sister Haas.

Lance Stroll endured a miserable session, running off at Dunlop Curve when on a flying lap and will start at the back, with the rebuilt Alpine of Jack Doohan alongside him after his huge shunt in FP2 on Friday.

F1 Japanese GP – Qualifying results

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Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Time	Tyres	km/h
1	M. VerstappenRed Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	1’26.983		240.336
2	L. NorrisMcLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	+0.012 1’26.995		240.303
3	O. PiastriMcLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	+0.044 1’27.027		240.215
4	C. LeclercFerrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.316 1’27.299		239.466
5	G. RussellMercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.335 1’27.318		239.414
6	A. AntonelliMercedes	12		Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.572 1’27.555		238.766
7	I. HadjarRacing Bulls	6		RB	Honda	+0.586 1’27.569		238.728
8	L. HamiltonFerrari	44		Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.627 1’27.610		238.616
9	A. AlbonWilliams	23		Williams	Mercedes	+0.632 1’27.615		238.602
10	O. BearmanHaas F1 Team	87		Haas	Ferrari	+0.884 1’27.867		237.918
11	P. GaslyAlpine	10		Alpine	Renault	+0.839 1’27.822		238.040
12	C. SainzWilliams	55		Williams	Mercedes	+0.853 1’27.836		238.002
13	F. AlonsoAston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	+0.914 1’27.897		237.837
14	L. LawsonRacing Bulls	30		RB	Honda	+0.923 1’27.906		237.813
15	Y. TsunodaRed Bull Racing	22		Red Bull	Red Bull	+1.017 1’28.000		237.559
16	N. HulkenbergSauber	27		Sauber	Ferrari	+1.587 1’28.570		236.030
17	G. BortoletoSauber	5		Sauber	Ferrari	+1.639 1’28.622		235.891
18	E. OconHaas F1 Team	31		Haas	Ferrari	+1.713 1’28.696		235.694
19	J. DoohanAlpine	7		Alpine	Renault	+1.894 1’28.877		235.214
20	L. StrollAston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	+2.288 1’29.271		234.176
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