Max Verstappen takes sensational pole as grass fires interrupt Japanese Grand Prix qualifying

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In a final flying lap, Max Verstappen produced one of the best single-lap performance of his storied career as he secured pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix and set a new lap record in the process.

McLaren’s Lando Norris, who currently leads the drivers’ standings, will line up alongside the Red Bull driver on the front row, with only 0.012 seconds separating the two drivers.

Coming into this weekend, Red Bull had faced plenty of noise given the team’s decision to replace Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda after just two races. Given how difficult the car has been to drive, Verstappen’s performance on Saturday should not be overlooked.

McLaren’s speed had made the Woking-based team seem just out of reach, with Norris and Oscar Piastri taking the first two wins of the season. But now, Verstappen has put himself in a prime spot to close the eight-point gap between himself and Norris in the driver standings.

Behind Verstappen and Norris on the grid for Sunday’s race will be Piastri in third and Charles Leclerc fourth. Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton qualified eighth.

George Russell knocked himself out of contention for pole position after he had a twitch early in his final flying lap, the Mercedes driver unable to improve on his time and qualified fifth. Meanwhile, Antonelli’s final lap was stronger and he qualified alongside his teammate, sitting sixth.

Like much of the race weekend, grass fires ignited once again and triggered a red flag during Q2, though it came after the 15 drivers had finished their first runs.

Saturday’s practice session had faced two red flags due to fires near the track. The first came early in the session, and the second erupted just seven minutes before the scheduled end, which hindered several drivers from finishing their qualifying simulation runs.

Friday’s practice sessions faced similar interruptions, prompting the FIA, the sport’s governing body, to attempt solutions ahead of Saturday’s sessions. However, these measures fell short, as the mix of car sparks and dry grass led to further issues.

A track marshal waters the dried out grass next to a burnt patch along the side of the track ahead of the qualifying session of the Japanese Grand Prix (Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP via Getty Images)

How they qualified

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2. Lando Norris, McLaren
3. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
4. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
5. George Russell, Mercedes
6. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
7. Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls
8. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
9. Alex Albon, Williams
10. Ollie Bearman, Haas
11. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
12. Carlos Sainz, Williams
13. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
14. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
15. Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull
16. Nico Hülkenberg, Sauber
17. Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
18. Esteban Ocon, Haas
19. Jack Doohan, Alpine
20. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin

Q2: Gasly, Sainz, Alonso, Lawson, Tsunoda fail to advance

The main headline was that Tsunoda’s time was slower than in Q1, and he was a spot behind Lawson. The Red Bull driver will have a long fight ahead of him to get into points, with midfield drivers like Alex Albon, Isack Hadjar and Ollie Bearman qualifying ahead of him.

Those first Q2 runs held some surprises, like Williams’ Albon setting a faster lap than the Ferraris and sitting fifth.

Flames sparked on the inside of one of the turns, 130R, and it came after time and resources were used to dampen the grass before qualifying. Once the red flag period ended, Hamilton and Leclerc were among the few drivers who went out with over six minutes to go in Q2. Their first runs landed them sixth and seventh, respectively, and they did improve before others did their subsequent laps.

Q1: Hülkenberg, Bortoleto, Ocon, Doohan and Stroll knocked out

One of the biggest notes that came out of Q1 was the gap between Tsunoda and Verstappen, which was just 0.024 seconds with the Dutchman ahead of his new teammate.

But Jack Doohan’s weekend continued to worsen. The Alpine driver missed out on FP1 after reserve driver Ryō Hirakawa drove the car as it was his home race, and Doohan suffered a significant crash during FP2, which left a major repair job for the team.

The car was ready for third practice on Saturday, where his fastest lap landed him P14. But come qualifying, Doohan was 0.2 seconds off, landing him P19. It goes to show just how razor-thin the margins are this season.

Meanwhile, both Sauber drivers were knocked out, as well as Haas’ Esteban Ocon and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. For a period of time, both Racing Bulls drivers looked in trouble — Hadjar was vocal on the radio about an issue. He managed to go P13 in Q1, ahead of teammate Lawson who sat P15 at the end of the session, but afterwards Racing Bulls reported that Hadjar was dealing with a seatbelt issue, which it was trying to fix ahead of Q2.

(Top Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

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