Until the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
Max Verstappen secured pole position for the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix but faced significant pressure from his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.
Perez had not qualified on the front row since his pole position in the Miami GP last May but showed impressive pace right from the first practice session on Friday, where he had already found the optimal performance range.
He managed to stay close to Verstappen’s pace throughout Q1 and Q2, but after the first runs in Q3, he was more than three tenths behind Verstappen and was trailing McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Approximately half of the time difference came from the final chicane, as Perez struggled with rear instability in Suzuka’s slower corners.
Perez made some improvements on his final run and ended up just 0.023s behind Verstappen’s initial time.
“We have been incredibly close all weekend. When you are operating within such a small margin, any small factor can make a difference. I did not have a great exit coming out of the last corner,” Perez explained after qualifying.
Verstappen also managed to improve on his final run, extending the gap over Perez to 0.066s. This meant he had two laps that were good enough for pole position. Verstappen described both laps as “not perfect” but “sufficient.”
Nevertheless, this is the closest Perez has been to Verstappen in terms of one-lap pace since his pole position in Miami last year.
Verstappen mentioned after qualifying that he did not feel as comfortable with the RB20 car at this circuit compared to others.
Lando Norris secured third place on the grid, ahead of Australian Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz.
Sainz was the leading Ferrari driver, as Charles Leclerc struggled throughout qualifying. Leclerc required an additional set of soft tires to progress from Q1, leaving him with only one new set for Q3.
Ferrari chose to send Leclerc out on track before other drivers completed their final runs.
Initially, Leclerc set the seventh fastest time but eventually dropped to eighth.
“That is the best I can do, honestly. I do not understand it,” Leclerc said in confusion after his lap.
Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin claimed fifth place, with Oscar Piastri from McLaren in sixth. Piastri achieved his first F1 podium finish at this circuit last year.
Lewis Hamilton secured seventh place for Mercedes, outperforming George Russell for the first time this season in qualifying.
Yuki Tsunoda continued his dominance over Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo in qualifying, beating him by just 0.055s to secure a spot in Q3.
Tsunoda, the local hero, has now made it to Q3 in three out of four races this season and ended up in 10th place. Ricciardo had to settle for 11th, although it is still his best qualifying performance of 2024.
Nico Hulkenberg from Haas finished in 12th place, making him the highest-placed Haas driver.
Valtteri Bottas from Sauber managed to reach the top 10 in Q1 but was unable to replicate that performance in Q2, ultimately finishing in 13th place. He was ahead of Alex Albon from Williams.
While Alonso was the second fastest in Q1 for Aston Martin, his teammate Lance Stroll was over seven tenths behind. This resulted in Stroll’s 100% elimination in Q1 at Suzuka, leaving him in 16th place on the grid.
While Lance Stroll faced disappointment, there was cause for celebration for Alpine and Esteban Ocon, who secured back-to-back appearances in Q2. However, Ocon could not improve his position in Q2 and ended up in 15th place on the grid.
His teammate Pierre Gasly was unable to join him and finished in 17th place, ahead of Kevin Magnussen from Haas, Logan Sargeant from Williams, and Zhou Guanyu from Sauber, who complained about oversteer throughout Q1.