Max Verstappen has quickly bounced back from his DNF in Australia to top all three qualifying runs and claim the pole for today’s Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
Verstappen’s 1:28.197 in Q3 in Saturday’s qualifying session was enough to take top position from teammate Sergio Perez by 0.066 seconds.
McLaren’s Lando Norris will start from third, alongside Australian Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz of Ferrari.
“Overall, in qualifying, the laps have been very nice, and it was a great result for the team,” said Verstappen. “On the last lap I tried to push a bit more and I was gaining quite nicely in sector one, but ran out of tyres at the end and lost a bit of time, which was a shame.
“We have to work on our long runs as we haven’t been fully happy with these and still feel like we can work to control the balance of the car a bit more. It wasn’t perfect, but to still be on pole on a lap that I felt like could have been better is great.
“We made some good changes within the car and I really enjoyed sector one; around here it is really fun to drive and the car is improving every year, especially in the high speed.
“All in all, the team has a front-row start, which is a perfect start to the race tomorrow, but I expect it to be very competitive. It is great to be here; the support is always amazing, and hopefully, we can give the fans a good race.”
Verstappen led the way early over the opening runs in Q3, setting a first time of 1:28.24, over two-tenths faster than the field. Perez moved to within 0.023 seconds on his final lap, only for the three-time World Champion to improve by four-hundredths to secure the pole.
Norris was two-tenths behind the pair, with Sainz a further 0.193 seconds back.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso will start this evening’s race from fifth, next to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and ahead of the top Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, in seventh, and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, in eighth.
George Russell and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda completed the top ten.
Daniel Ricciardo was eliminated in Q2, falling just 0.055 seconds shy of his teammate’s time to progress to Q3.
“I have mixed emotions today,” said the Australian. “There’s a bit of frustration, but it’s also encouraging to be so close to Q3 after a tricky start to the year.
“Considering that yesterday I had only a few laps, and they were in damp conditions, today’s qualifying was a good session as we were very close to making it inside the top 10.
“I drove some laps this morning in FP3 and then worked hard to find those few tenths for quali. I’m pleased for us to be pretty much there, but it’s not Q3. It’s just frustrating to be knocked out by just half a tenth, as it would have been nice to give it to the guys today.
“After yesterday, we certainly see some positives that are encouraging. For tomorrow, the race pace has been alright and I’ll start on the clean side of the grid.
“I really think points are possible, so I’ll aim to be in the top 10 on Lap 1 as well as on Lap 53.”
Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas, Williams’s Alex Albon, and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon were also eliminated in Q2, respectively.
Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen, Logan Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu were the drivers eliminated in Q1.
The Japanese Grand Prix begins at 5 pm on Sunday (NZ Time) and will be shown live on Sky Sport.
Header Image: Getty Images/ Red Bull Content Pool
