Verstappen takes pole by 0.01sec after close-run 2022 Japanese GP qualifying

Max Verstappen topped a close-run qualifying session for the Japanese Grand Prix, as just six-hundredths of a second split the fastest three finishers.

It proved a clash of F1’s current titans with the Ferraris and Red Bulls in formidable form, the drivers looking confident to push their cars through Suzuka’s curves despite a lack of preparation after wet running on Friday.

The battle was tight in the midfield too, with places decided by thousandths of a second over the 1min 30sec lap.

Verstappen had an eventful end to qualifying, as Lando Norris narrowly missed hitting him at high speed when the Red Bull snapped to the left as he was about to start his first Q3 fast lap.

The Dutchman went on to set the quickest time, but was only 0.01sec ahead of Charles Leclerc as they began their final runs.

There was then a further mishap for Verstappen, who couldn’t improve his time after running wide over a kerb and losing part of the floor from his car. Leclerc couldn’t capitalise, however. The Ferrari driver was left rueing time lost in the final sector, and is set to line up alongside the Red Bull on the front row of the grid — assuming there are no changes to the order.

Verstappen can secure his second championship with a win and fastest lap in Sunday’s race but is still waiting for his pole to be confirmed after a stewards’ investigation into the incident with Norris, who was approaching fast as the Red Bull driver crawled towards the final chicane — both drivers on their outlaps.

Norris went to pass Verstappen on the left, but just before he did, Verstappen hit the throttle. His rear wheels lit up and the car jerked to the left, forcing Norris on to the grass to avoid a high-energy collision.

Norris criticised the Dutchman, who blamed it on his cold tyres.

Behind the leading pair, Carlos Sainz qualified third, and disappointed to miss pole by 0.057sec. Sergio Perez is set to start fourth, ahead of Esteban Ocon, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, who was in the top four in Q1 and Q2.

Sebastian Vettel is ninth on the grid after making it through to the final round. He finished his valedictory qualifying session at Suzuka early: the Aston driver returning to the pits with 3min remaining, waving to the crowd and thanking the team, saying: “This circuit is so much better than the other ones”.

“You just feel so alive when you’re battling with the car and yourself in the first sector,” said Vettel once he was out of the car. “There’s a big smile on your face.”

Both AlphaTauri drivers exited the session before Q3. If their cars’ braking issues weren’t obvious enough by the plumes of white smoke as they locked up and destroyed their tyres, their anguished radio messages made it clear.

Q1

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton set their initial times on the medium tyre, saving soft tyres for later in the session, but it left them in the drop zone, and they were soon back out again on soft tyres.

Verstappen went fastest with a 1min 30.224sec time, leading Sainz by just over a tenth of a second, followed by Leclerc, Alonso and Perez, who was 0.4sec off the leader.

These five returned to the pits and stayed there, comfortable with their first attempts but everybody else decided on a second run, with the margins between success and failure wafer thin.

At the end, just four-hundredths of a second separated George Russell in seventh from Lewis Hamilton in eleventh, while Sebastian Vettel sneaked through to Q2 by half a tenth, just beating Alex Albon to 15th.

Both Williams drivers missed out on the cut, as did Pierre Gasly, angrily complaining about his brake performance, Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll.

There was no change at the top, Verstappen remaining in front at the end of the session.

Q2

There’s close and there was FP2 at Suzuka.

Alonso, Perez and Russell all lapped within a thousandth of a second of each other after their first runs in a session where blinking at the wrong time could see you tumble in the placings.

Verstappen was initially fastest with 1min 30.224sec lap — a tenth of a second slower than his Q1 effort.

Sainz was once again second-fastest, a tenth back, followed by Leclerc, lacking half-a-tenth on Sainz.

The leading trio remained in the pits but, unlike in Q1, they were quickly overhauled by the second-run times. Sergio Perez was first to dip below 1min 29sec to go top, followed by Fernando Alonso, 0.4sec back, and only 0.003sec ahead of Verstappen’s time.

In fact, there were plenty of drivers within a hair’s breadth of Alonso: 0.15sec separating the Alpine driver from Leclerc who was pushed down to ninth by the improving times.

Lewis Hamilton and Sainz were split by a thousandth of a second in fifth and sixth while, in a repeat of the previous session, Vettel got through to Q1 by the skin of his teeth or, as they say in F1, three-thousandths of a second.

This time, it was Daniel Ricciardo who missed out after one of his more competitive sessions this year. Following him out in Q2 was Valtteri Bottas, Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu and Mick Schumacher.

Q3

Max Verstappen was lucky to make it to his flying lap after Lando Norris narrowly missed piling into the slow-moving Red Bull but the scare didn’t seem to affect the reigning champion who turned it up and topped the timesheet with a 1min 29.304sec lap, followed by Leclerc, 0.25sec behind.

The scene was set for a final showdown, but it didn’t materialise as the frontrunners failed to improve: Leclerc was first over the line, unable to take pole and nobody else could go quicker, which meant that Verstappen’s last lap was academic — fortunately for him given the damage incurred when he ran wide over a kerb.

2022 Japanese Grand Prix qualifying results