05/04/2025
NEWS STORY
Ahead of today's qualifying session the air temperature is 15 degrees C, while the track temperature is 35 degrees.
Courtesy of this morning's two stoppages and yesterday's four, we still don't know the true pecking order, other than the fact that McLaren is at the front.
Mercedes appears to be next up but after that it's hard to tell. The Ferraris look good, while the Red Bull is as erratic as ever. Indeed, the Red Bull pair are actually under pressure from their RB counterparts, which is unlikely to go down well with Mr Marko.
Adding to the fun and games is that while conditions are good today we are expecting rain tomorrow, which, if nothing else, should help prevent any further trackside fires.
Though the McLarens appear to be in a league of their own here, it is noticeable that Norris, in particular, has been overdriving his car, and one wonders if the intra-team battle is beginning to get to him.
Other than not allowing us to form a decent idea of the pecking order, the stoppages have also compromised the drivers in terms of their preparations, as yesterday and this morning the reds appeared just as most were preparing for their final soft runs.
The lights go green and Ocon leads the way, followed by Bearman, Doohan, Sainz and Hulkenberg.
As one would expect red are the order of the day, however Hamilton has opted for mediums.
Tsunoda emerges to a hero's welcome.
Of the first wave, Bortoleto sets the pace with a 29.361, however Leclerc responds with a 28.571. Hamilton goes second with a 29.167.
Quickest in all three sectors, Norris crosses the line at 28.233.
Albon goes third with a 28.744, but is demoted when a 28.654 puts Tsunoda third.
Verstappen goes second with a 28.360, 0.127s down on Norris.
Quickest in the final two sectors, Piastri stops the clock at 28.143.
Alonso goes seventh, but is demoted when Russell splits the McLarens with a 28.201.
"I still have the same problem, the tyres are not gripping," complains Verstappen.
Gasly goes eighth, as Hadjar complains of the "same issue" as this morning, which was a loose seatbelt.
Lawson goes ninth, while his teammate is thirteenth.
A 28.563 sees Sainz go fifth.
As Doohan goes twelfth, as Norris goes top with a 27.845 and Leclerc second with a 27.920.
"I don't know what's wrong with me, I can't focus," complains Hadjar, who adds that his car is "not driveable".
Bearman goes fifth with a 28.327.
Now on softs, Hamilton goes sixth with a 28.340.
With just over 4 minutes remaining the field heads out for the final assault, Lawson, Alonso, Antonelli, Hadjar and Stroll comprise the drop zone, with Ocon, Doohan and Hulkenberg hovering.
"If this is what ruins our qualifying, just so you know I'm very sorry," says Hadjar.
"The issue is still here, I can't believe it," adds Hadjar.
Verstappen goes quickest in S2, crossing the line at 27.943 to go third.
Piastri goes quickest with a 27.687, as Tsunoda goes sixth, Hamilton fifth, Antonelli eighth.
Bearman goes eleventh, Sainz ninth, Gasly ninth, and Doohan 17th.
Despite his issues Hadjar improves to twelfth, as Bortoleto fails to make it to the next stage.
At the death, Lawson goes fifteenth.
Quickest is Piastri, ahead of Russell, Norris, Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Tsunoda, Antonelli, Gasly and Sainz.
We lose Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Ocon, Doohan and Stroll. Replays show Hulkenberg and Stroll both made mistakes and ran wide on their final laps.
"I don't want to use any excuses," says Doohan, "but I think maybe Q2 could have been on the cards. I made a small mistake on the exit of Spoon, if I hadn't made it I could have made Q2."
Verstappen is first out for Q2, Bearman follows, ahead of Gasly and Tsunoda.
Verstappen posts a benchmark 27.502, while Gasly goes second with a 27.980.
As Leclerc goes second (27.866), Tsunoda can only manage seventh (28.154).
Norris goes top with a 27.146 as Hamilton goes third (27.808).
Alonso goes sixth, ahead of Bearman, Tsunoda and Lawson.
Piastri can only manage third, 0.467s off the pace, and adding to his frustration is that he is demoted when Russell goes second (27.400).
Albon goes fifth, Hadjar ninth and Sainz eleventh.
At which point, with 8:26 remaining, the session is red-flagged. Yup, you guessed. This time on the inside at 130R.
"That's a good gain in Turn 11," Albon is told.
Hamilton leads the way when the session resumes, the Briton followed by his Ferrari teammate.
For a while the pair have the track to themselves, but as they begin their flyers they are joined by Albon.
It's a poor opening sector from Hamilton while Leclerc is also struggling. The Briton posts a PB in S2 as does Leclerc. Hamilton goes fourth (27.610), but is demoted by his teammate (27.600).
Albon fails to improve and remains seventh, as Leclerc admits that his first sector was "rubbish".
While Antonelli posts a PB is S1, Tsunoda has a poor opening sector.
Antonelli goes seventh having been quickest in S3. Tsunoda can only manage eleventh.
Hadjar goes eighth, while Lawson goes tenth, ahead of Tsunoda.
Bearman goes eighth, which drops Alonso to twelfth.
Gasly can only manage 11th and Sainz 12th, while Albon makes the cut by the skin of his teeth.
While Hamilton backs off, Leclerc appears to be going for a second flyer. However, he too aborts in the second sector.
Re[play shows Hamilton having to run wide after encountering a slow Sainz on the racing line.
Quickest is Norris, ahead of Russell, Verstappen, Piastri, Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli, Bearman, Hadjar and Albon.
We lose Gasly, Sainz, Alonso, Lawson and Tsunoda.
Check out our Saturday gallery from Suzuka here.
Q2 hero Bearman leads the way as Q3 gets underway. He is followed by fellow rookie Antonelli, Russell, Hadjar and Verstappen.
Antonelli, Bearman, Hadjar and Albon have opted for used rubber, the rest are on fresh.
Bearman posts a benchmark 28.090, while Antonelli crosses the line at 28.222.
A 27.318 sees Russell go top, while Hadjar goes second.
Piastri posts a 27.052 as Verstappen goes second with a 27.278.
Norris goes fourth (27.519) and Hamilton fifth, but both are demoted when Leclerc goes third with a 27.299.
Bearman heads out for the final assault, again he is followed by Antonelli. Last out are Verstappen and Piastri.
An early mistake from Russell is likely to prove costly.
Norris goes quickest in S1, despite a big slide.
Antonelli goes sixth and Bearman eighth, while Russell remains fourth.
Hadjar goes seventh, as Norris takes provisional pole with a 26.995.
Hamilton goes eighth, as Piastri goes quickest in S2.
Verstappen takes pole with three PBs, while despite being quickest in the final two sectors, Piastri can only manage third.
Wow! Nobody expected that. Understandably, the Dutchman gets a round of applause from his garage.
"That was insane," says Gianpiero Lambiase. "Pure class," adds Christian Horner.
The four-time world champion took a brave gamble on a low downforce set-up and it paid off.
Verstappen is on pole, ahead of Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Russell, Antonelli, Hadjar, Hamilton, Albon and Bearman.
Gasly will start eleventh, ahead of Sainz, Alonso, Lawson, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Ocon, Doohan and Stroll.
"I felt good through most of the qualifying, especially at the start of Q3, that was a good lap," says Piastri. "The last lap didn't come together how I wanted, with tight margins.
"There's more left on the table out there, so we try again tomorrow," he adds.
"I think we have good race pace, the others are not as far away as people think. I still think we have a great car for tomorrow and will be in the mix for the win."
"I'm happy," says Norris, "congrats to Max, he did a good job. You have to credit something when it is a lap that good that he must have done.
"I got everything out of the car today," he adds, "the gaps are tiny. Good, but not enough.
"We were on the limit of what we had, we just didn't have enough today."
"Yeah, I am," replies Verstappen when asked if he's surprised to be on pole. "Each session we kept making little improvements. Then the last lap was just flat out.
"In a Formula 1 car around here is insane," he grins. "This is a proper highlight for us to be back on pole here."
"We did not expect that," admits Christian Horner. "An outstanding lap, he has extracted every ounce of performance.
"Getting that pole position was completely against the run of form. A massive result for him, a big lift for the team."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Suzuka here.