After a technical snag which robbed him of a podium finish at the final race of the Australian Grand Prix earlier last month, Max Verstappen was back in form as he snatched the pole position for the fourth consecutive time this season at the qualifiers of the Japanese Grand Prix.
Top two spots for Red Bull
With a record lap time of Verstappen of 1 minute and 28.197 seconds, the Spaniard attained his 36th pole position of his career. It also marked a third successive pole position for Verstappen at Suzuka Circuit. His Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez narrowly missed the top spot by just 0.066s, taking the second spot in the table.
The third spot was taken by McLaren Mercedes’ Lando Norris with a best lap timing of 1 minute and 28.489 seconds. Australian GP winner Carlos Sainz recorded the fourth fastest lap in the qualifiers 1 minute and 28.682 seconds. Fernando Alonso was the lead Aston Martin in fifth, ahead of birthday boy Oscar Piastri from McLaren Mercedes in sixth place.
Reflecting on his performance, Verstappen told F1 TV: “It was quite close at the end. I think overall this track is very sensitive with the tyres, with the tarmac being really aggressive, and when you really want to go to the limit it doesn’t always work out.
Seven-time world champion– Lewis Hamilton– will share the fourth row with future Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc, ahead of George Russell in ninth tomorrow. Meanwhile, an incident involving Russell and Piastri — the Mercedes being released into the path of the McLaren in the pit lane — is being looked at by the stewards following the session. Local hero, Yuki Tsunoda, from Honda took the tenth spot.
Mixed bag feeling for Ferrari
While Sainz was satisfied with his performance en route to P4, his teammate Leclerc struggled to match him, ending the session with the eighth fastest lap. It was a scruffy session for Leclerc, as the Monacan used up more soft tyres than his rivals in the opening phase and then had just one run in the pole shootout.
Earlier, some racers had a tough time at the Suzuka circuit on Friday with drizzle and sporadic showers hindering the two practice sessions.
| Position | Driver | Team | Lap Timing |
| 1. | M. Verstappen | Red Bull Honda | 1:28:197 |
| 2. | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Honda | +0.066 |
| 3. | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | +0.292 |
| 4. | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.485 |
| 5. | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.489 |
| 6. | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | +0.663 |
| 7. | Lewis Hamilton` | Mercedes | +0.669 |
| 8. | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.689 |
| 9. | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.811 |
| 10. | Yuki Tsunoda | Honda RB | +1.216 |