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Verstappen and Red Bull are back in contention after taking pole position ahead of the Japanese GP following their nightmare qualifying in Singapore.
Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team overcame a disappointing weekend in Singapore by snatching pole position for the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix.
Verstappen breezed past McLaren’s duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris during Saturday’s qualifying session at Suzuka.
F1 reports that the reigning world champion clocked a time of 1m 29.012s in the early minutes of Q3 and improved to a 1m 28.877s on his second run.
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Verstappen’s dominant performance put him more than half a second clear of Piastri and Norris, who struggled to better their initial laps – as the chequered flag dropped.
However, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc pipped Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez to fourth position following his win at the Singapore GP
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz rounded up the top six positions.
Meanwhile, Mercedes had to settle for seventh and eighth in qualifying, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton ahead of George Russell.
Home favourite Yuki Tsunoda, having been announced at AlphaTauri alongside Daniel Ricciardo for the 2024 season, finished in an impressive ninth position, with Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso finishing in 10th place.
There could yet be a twist in the tale before Sunday’s race with Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) and Valteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) all under investigation post-session for allegedly failing to follow the Race Director’s instructions regarding maximum lap time.
F1 2023 Japanese Grand Prix Qualifying Full Results
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| Position | Driver | Team | Qual. time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:28.877 |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:29.458 |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:29.493 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:29.542 |
| 5 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1:29.650 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:29.850 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:29.908 |
| 8 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:30.219 |
| 9 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:30.303 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:30.560 |
| 11 | Liam Lawson | AlphaTauri | 1:30.425 |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:30.843 |
| 13 | Alex Albon | Williams | 1:30.941 |
| 14 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:30.960 |
| 15 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:30.976 |
| 16 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 1.31:049 |
| 17 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:31.181 |
| 18 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 1:31.299 |
| 19 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 1:31.398 |
| 20 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | NO TIME |
The main race for the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix takes place on Sunday, September 24 at 6:00 AM WAT.
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