Max Verstappen has qualified on pole position for Red Bull 41 times. But his lap at the Japanese Grand Prix surely ranks in his top five to date.
While Verstappen is the reigning world champion, virtually nobody regarded him as a pole contender on Saturday. McLaren were fastest in both Australia and China and here it looked like another battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Verstappen was around half a second off the pace in practice and he continued to complain about car balance at the start of qualifying. But he displaced Norris by just 12-thousandths of a second at the end of Q3, and Piastri’s poor first sector meant he couldn’t dislodge the Red Bull.
Norris admitted his lap wasn’t ideal, but was also unsure whether he’d improve if given one more attempt. That suggests this was simply a near-perfect effort from an all-time great.
Pierre Gasly and fellow F1 drivers were ‘astounded’ by Max Verstappen pole at Japanese Grand Prix
While Verstappen fought the two McLarens for pole, the drivers who had been eliminated earlier in qualifying were circulating in the media pen. One of them was former teammate Pierre Gasly, who was 11th.
Speaking on Autosport’s round-up, journalist Jake Boxall-Legge said Gasly halted their interview to watch the end of the session. He, like the rest of the drivers present, was ‘astounded’ by what he saw.
The volume of Verstappen’s team radio message afterwards was telling. Race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, known for his composure, called it an ‘insane’ result.
“It was pretty exceptional,” Boxall-Legge said. “I was in the driver pen at the time. We were talking to Pierre Gasly.
“And suddenly, he stops and turns round, just as I’d asked him a question. He goes ‘we can watch this together’.
“I think all the drivers who were in the pen at the time were pretty astounded by the lap. Tiny margins over the two McLarens.”
How Max Verstappen defied Christian Horner’s Red Bull data to beat McLaren
Verstappen’s performance looks even better when one considers that new teammate Yuki Tsunoda qualified 15th. Ted Kravitz noticed a major set-up difference at Red Bull, so perhaps that contributed.
Still, it’s glaringly obvious that the RB21 is a difficult car to drive, but Verstappen is truly unique. He doesn’t just cope with those problems, he’s able to excel in spite of them.
Damon Hill says Verstappen refused to be beaten, finding the extra level that only the very best possess. Perhaps he entered the weekend with extra motivation after a frustrating, but far from disastrous, start to the season.
Christian Horner says McLaren were theoretically faster than Red Bull by half a tenth based on the sector times. This, however, was a day where the driver made the difference.
