Max Verstappen gave another masterclass in driving and managed to take a pole position against all odds and challenge the dominance of McLaren. The Dutchman put in a perfect final lap, without setting the fastest time in any sector, but maintaining a consistency that put him three tenths of a second ahead of Lando Norris, who had to settle for second place. Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz did not get past Q3, and will have to fight to get into the points in the race on Sunday.
Max Verstappen flies over Japan
It hasn’t been an easy week for the Red Bull team. With the internal problems caused by the change of driver between Tsunoda and Lawson, achieving this pole is a breath of fresh air for a team that has been under pressure recently. And all thanks to one driver, one of the best drivers in the history of F1, who has once again demonstrated how good he is by achieving an impossible pole that was not in the cards.
He managed to improve his time by more than half a second compared to Q2, and beat Lando Norris by just three thousandths, who was second. To do so, he set a perfect lap, worthy of a super champion who does not give up despite having a car that is much more limited than the current dominants. In an F1 where the configuration of the cars sets everything, Verstappen continues to demonstrate that his quality is above the rest.
And you only have to look at the position of Yuki Tsunoda, who seemed to have started out motivated in his new venture with Red Bull, but could only place the car in fifteenth place on the grid (one place behind Lawson, by the way).
McLaren, surprised
McLaren did not expect what happened in qualifying. After dominating all the sessions over the weekend, they took it for granted that pole position and second place would be theirs if their drivers didn’t make any mistakes. And they didn’t make any, or at least they weren’t obvious, but they couldn’t have imagined that Max Verstappen would sneak past them, they might have suspected Russell or that a Ferrari would step up, but the Red Bull driver’s pole position has taken them by surprise.
World championship leader Lando Norris will start from second position, and Oscar Piastri will start from the second row of the grid in third position.
Leclerc tames the Ferrari and Russell keeps Mercedes at bay
Charles Leclerc seems to have taken a step forward with Ferrari. He will start from fourth place, his best qualifying position so far this season, ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who will start from a disappointing eighth place. We will see if the Monegasque is capable of making a good start and fighting for a place on the podium.
For its part, Mercedes’ performance is in line with that of the whole season. Aware that they are a step behind, they remain constant, waiting for things to happen that will work in their favor. In this sense, Russell is one of the best on the grid, and will start from fifth place to try to catch his third podium of the season. Andrea Antonelli takes a step forward and qualifies just behind the Briton in sixth place.
Alonso and Sainz, out of Q3
The Spanish drivers are where they were expected to be, but it is still disappointing. In the case of Fernando Alonso, he managed to get into Q2 by the skin of his teeth, and ended up qualifying thirteenth, much better than his team-mate, Lance Stroll, who will start last.
Carlos Sainz continues to show signs of improvement, alternating good laps with others where he continues to make adaptation mistakes. He still has room for improvement, but he continues to take steps forward. He will start from twelfth place, three behind Alexander Albon.
Rain in the race?
The chances of rain increase ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix this Sunday, an opportunity for drivers like Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz to fight for points. At the top, a battle is expected. We will see if Lando Norris is capable of overtaking Verstappen, something he could hardly do last season when he was behind him. The rain could change everything, but rain or not, he is not expecting a race where many things can happen.