Verstappen beats the McLarens to take surprise pole position in Suzuka
Having struggled for pace throughout the practice sessions, Max Verstappen bounced back in qualifying to take a surprise pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix. F1Technical's senior journalist Balazs Szabo reports on the nail-biting qualifying at Suzuka.
Max Verstappen was struggling for outright pace across the practice sessions on Friday and Saturday morning, but he managed to turn his fortunes around for the all-important qualifying session.
Following Friday's practice day, the reigning champion made a series of changes to his RB21, including tweaks to the weight distribution, aerodynamic balance, suspension setup, which has allowed him to take on the fight against the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
The Dutchman delivered a brilliant lap in the closing stages of qualifying, posting a record-breaking time of 1m26.983s tp beat Norris and Piastri by 12 and 44 thousands of a second.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc did manage to show his full potential throughout the practice sessions, but he bounced back in qualifying. Although the Monegasque was unable for challenge for the pole position, he still managed to secure third spot on the grid, beating Mercedes driver George Russell, who looked very strong throughout the weekend.
His team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli spent the majority of the practice sessions at the bottom of the leaderboard, but the Italian displayed a complete upturn in form to qualify himself sixth.
Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar delivered another impressive performance to end up seventh on the grid, with Ferrari's seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton suffering a disappointing end to his qualifying to finish down in P8.
Charles Leclerc led Ferrari’s charge in P4, with George Russell in P5 for Mercedes following a messy moment on his flying lap. Fellow Silver Arrows driver Kimi Antonelli took P6 and another rookie, Isack Hadjar, was an impressive P7 for Racing Bulls.
Lewis Hamilton claimed eighth place in the Ferrari, ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and the Haas of Ollie Bearman in ninth and 10th respectively.
Williams driver Alex Albon delivered another masterful performance to qualify ninth on the grid, from Haas driver Oliver Bearman, who looked incredibly quick throughout the entire qualifying session.
Pierre Gasly appeared to have a great perfromance in practice, but he was unable to progress to the top ten shootout, ending up 11th for Alpine.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz – who will be investigated after the session for potentially impeding Hamilton – in 12th and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in 13th.
Having joined Red Bull for this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda looked quick in practice and in Q1, but a dismal last push lap in Q2 saw him end up only 15th quickest.
On his return to Racing Bulls, Liam Lawson, who has been replaced by Tsunoda, took P14 for the Faenza-based outfit.
The Kick Sauber pair of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto took P16 and P17 respectively, ahead of Haas’ Esteban Ocon in P18.
Having suffered a high-speed crash in second practice, Jack Doohan struggled to bounce back, ending the session in 19th, while Lance Stroll rounded out the order down in 20th after an off-track moment in the Aston Martin.
