- Dutch driver qualifies first for the ninth time this season
- Oscar Piastri impresses and will also start on front row
Max Verstappen claimed pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix for Red Bull with a mighty lap of Suzuka. With two superb runs on the figure-of-eight circuit, Verstappen beat the McLaren of Oscar Piastri into second place, an equally impressive showing for the rookie who takes his first front row GP start on Sunday. Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris was third. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was in fourth, with Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez in fifth. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were in seventh and eighth for Mercedes.
Verstappen, out early in every session, set the pace on his first hot run in Q3. He flew through the opening sector and the high-speed esses, was nailed on through the slower sweep of Spoon corner and buried the lap with a 1min 29.012sec time, an absolutely masterly display that was four-tenths clear of Piastri.