Sunny. Dry. Air +27…29С, highway +38С
Qualifying in Suzuka is not fundamental – the circuit allows overtaking, but always proves interesting, especially after Red Bull’s unexpected failure and Ferrari’s success in the previous stage in Singapore.
In Singapore, however, Red Bull’s problems continued and in Suzuka Max Verstappen led by a wide margin on both Friday and Saturday morning.
There were no empty seats in the stands. The excellent weather was somewhat spoiled by the increased wind, but the spectators did not feel too hot. They supported everyone, but especially their compatriot Yuki Tsunoda. This morning it was announced that he will remain with AlphaTauri for the 2024 season.
Taking into account the traditionally high tire wear, Pirelli brought three “hard” compounds to the podium: C1, C2 and C3 in the Hard, Medium and Soft roles.
In the first session everyone went to Soft. Already in the ninth minute, red flags appeared – Logan Sargent crashed the car at the exit of the last corner.
The impact was severe, the car was seriously damaged, but the driver left the cockpit under his own power, crossed the track and was sent to a medical center for examination.
The break lasted 12 minutes, after which the riders could continue the battle. Verstappen set the best time and completed a lap in 1:29.878. Bottas, Stroll, Hulkenberg, Zhou and Sargent did not qualify for the second part.
In the second session everyone also went to Soft. Piastri’s car stopped in the pit lane due to a problem with the power unit, and the mechanics rolled it into the pits.
Just like in the first session, many drivers had their laps canceled because they went off track.
The results were solid. Leclerc showed the best time and completed a lap in 1:29.940, the first four passing in a tenth. Lawson, Gasly, Albon, Ocon and Magnussen did not reach the final.
In the final Verstappen completed the first lap in 1:29.012, one and a half seconds ahead of his teammate Perez. Piastri came closest to the Dutchman, but he lost by almost half a second.
On the second attempt Max drove even faster: 1:28.877, more than half a second ahead of everyone else.
Max Verstappen won qualifying in Suzuka and took the 29th pole of his career and the ninth of the season. Oscar Piastri will share the front row of the starting field with him, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc will start from the second row.
Qualifying results
| Pilot | Team | 1 session | Session 2 | Session 3 | ||||||
| M | Time | Kr | M | Time | Kr | M | Time | Kr | ||
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1 | 1:29,878 | 3 | 2 | 1:29,964 | 3 | 1 | 1:28,877 | 6 |
| 2. O. Piastri | McLaren | 5 | 1:30,439 | 5 | 6 | 1:30.122 | 3 | 2 | 1:29,458 | 6 |
| 3. L.Norris | McLaren | 2 | 1:30.063 | 3 | 9 | 1:30,296 | 3 | 3 | 1:29,493 | 6 |
| 4. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | 3 | 1:30,393 | 5 | 1 | 1:29,940 | 6 | 4 | 1:29,542 | 3 |
| 5. C. Perez | Red Bull | 7 | 1:30,652 | 6 | 3 | 1:29.965 | 6 | 5 | 1:29,650 | 6 |
| 6. K.Sainz | Ferrari | 6 | 1:30,651 | 5 | 5 | 1:30.067 | 6 | 6 | 1:29,850 | 3 |
| 7. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 10 | 1:30,811 | 6 | 4 | 1:30,040 | 6 | 7 | 1:29,908 | 6 |
| 8. D. Russell | Mercedes | 9 | 1:30,811 | 6 | 8 | 1:30,268 | 6 | 8 | 1:30,219 | 3 |
| 9. Yu.Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 8 | 1:30,733 | 6 | 7 | 1:30,204 | 6 | 9 | 1:30,303 | 6 |
| 10. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 14 | 1:30.971 | 6 | 10 | 1:30,465 | 6 | 10 | 1:30,560 | 3 |
| 11. L. Lawson | AlphaTauri | 4 | 1:30,425 | 10 | eleven | 1:30,508 | 6 | |||
| 12. P. Gasly | Alps | eleven | 1:30,843 | 6 | 12 | 1:30,509 | 6 | |||
| 13. A. Elbon | Williams | 12 | 1:30.941 | 6 | 13 | 1:30,537 | 6 | |||
| 14. E.Okon | Alps | 13 | 1:30,960 | 6 | 14 | 1:30,586 | 6 | |||
| 15. K.Magnussen | Hare | 15 | 1:30.976 | 6 | 15 | 1:30,665 | 3 | |||
| 16. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 16 | 1:31,049 | 5 | ||||||
| 17. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 17 | 1:31,181 | 7 | ||||||
| 18. N. Hulkenberg | Hare | 18 | 1:31,299 | 6 | ||||||
| 19. G.Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 19 | 1:31,398 | 6 | ||||||
| 20. L. Sargent | Williams | 20 | – | 2 | ||||||
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
