F1 qualifying results: Max Verstappen takes Japanese GP pole

Verstappen will start ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.

However, Verstappen is under investigation by stewards for a near miss on his out-lap with McLaren’s Lando Norris in Q3.

Japanese Grand Prix qualifying results: Verstappen on pole from Leclerc

Cla	Driver		Chassis	Time	Gap	km/h
1	Max Verstappen		Red Bull	1'29.304		234.090
2	Charles Leclerc		Ferrari	1'29.314	0.010	234.064
3	Carlos Sainz		Ferrari	1'29.361	0.057	233.940
4	Sergio Perez		Red Bull	1'29.709	0.405	233.033
5	Esteban Ocon		Alpine	1'30.165	0.861	231.854
6	Lewis Hamilton		Mercedes	1'30.261	0.957	231.608
7	Fernando Alonso		Alpine	1'30.322	1.018	231.451
8	George Russell		Mercedes	1'30.389	1.085	231.280
9	Sebastian Vettel		Aston Martin	1'30.554	1.250	230.858
10	Lando Norris		McLaren	1'31.003	1.699	229.719
11	Daniel Ricciardo		McLaren	1'30.659	1.355	230.591
12	Valtteri Bottas		Alfa Romeo	1'30.709	1.405	230.464
13	Yuki Tsunoda		AlphaTauri	1'30.808	1.504	230.213
14	Zhou Guanyu		Alfa Romeo	1'30.953	1.649	229.846
15	Mick Schumacher		Haas	1'31.439	2.135	228.624
16	Alex Albon		Williams	1'31.311	2.007	228.945
17	Pierre Gasly		AlphaTauri	1'31.322	2.018	228.917
18	Kevin Magnussen		Haas	1'31.352	2.048	228.842
19	Lance Stroll		Aston Martin	1'31.419	2.115	228.674
20	Nicholas Latifi		Williams	1'31.511	2.207	228.444
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What happened in Japanese Grand Prix Q1?

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez set the early bar at 1m30.622s, which was soon beaten by Verstappen’s 1m30.224s. Sainz got to within 0.112s for P2, with Leclerc in third, 0.178s off the pace.

Falling at the first hurdle were Alex Albon (Williams), a brake-troubled Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Nicholas Latifi (Williams).

Japanese Grand Prix Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Sainz

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1'30.224			231.703
2	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1'30.336	0.112	0.112	231.416
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1'30.402	0.178	0.066	231.247
4	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	1'30.603	0.379	0.201	230.734
5	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	1'30.622	0.398	0.019	230.685
6	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1'30.696	0.472	0.074	230.497
7	George Russell	Mercedes	1'30.865	0.641	0.169	230.068
8	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	1'30.880	0.656	0.015	230.030
9	Lando Norris	McLaren	1'30.881	0.657	0.001	230.028
10	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo	1'30.894	0.670	0.013	229.995
11	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1'30.906	0.682	0.012	229.965
12	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	1'31.130	0.906	0.224	229.399
13	Mick Schumacher	Haas	1'31.152	0.928	0.022	229.344
14	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	1'31.226	1.002	0.074	229.158
15	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	1'31.256	1.032	0.030	229.083
16	Alex Albon	Williams	1'31.311	1.087	0.055	228.945
17	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	1'31.322	1.098	0.011	228.917
18	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1'31.352	1.128	0.030	228.842
19	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1'31.419	1.195	0.067	228.674
20	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	1'31.511	1.287	0.092	228.444
View full results

What happened in Japanese Grand Prix Q2?

Sainz set the early pace at 1m30.444s on used tyres, 0.042s faster than Leclerc. Verstappen then usurped them both with 1m30.346s.

Perez ran again on new tyres and went quickest on 1m29.925s, four tenths clear of Fernando Alonso’s Alpine.

Knocked out at this point were Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) and Mick Schumacher (Haas).

Japanese Grand Prix Q2 results: Perez fastest from Alonso

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	1'29.925			232.473
2	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	1'30.343	0.418	0.418	231.398
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1'30.346	0.421	0.003	231.390
4	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1'30.357	0.432	0.011	231.362
5	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1'30.443	0.518	0.086	231.142
6	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1'30.444	0.519	0.001	231.139
7	George Russell	Mercedes	1'30.465	0.540	0.021	231.086
8	Lando Norris	McLaren	1'30.473	0.548	0.008	231.065
9	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1'30.486	0.561	0.013	231.032
10	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	1'30.656	0.731	0.170	230.599
11	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	1'30.659	0.734	0.003	230.591
12	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	1'30.709	0.784	0.050	230.464
13	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	1'30.808	0.883	0.099	230.213
14	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo	1'30.953	1.028	0.145	229.846
15	Mick Schumacher	Haas	1'31.439	1.514	0.486	228.624
View full results

What happened in Japanese Grand Prix Q3?

On the first runs, Leclerc set the bar at 1m29.557s but Verstappen cleared it with 1m29.304s – although he had a run-in with Norris on their out-laps exiting 130R. Stewards will investigate the near miss after the session.

Sainz was third quickest, four tenths off the pace, with Perez in fourth.

On the final runs, Leclerc improved to 1m29.314s – but missed pole by 0.01s. Sainz also improved to 0.057s of Verstappen, who didn’t improve on his final run and damaged his car on the kerbs at the exit of Turn 2.

Perez will start fourth, ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, Alonso, George Russell (Mercedes), Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) and Norris.

Japanese Grand Prix Q3 results: Verstappen takes pole

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1'29.304			234.090
2	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1'29.314	0.010	0.010	234.064
3	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1'29.361	0.057	0.047	233.940
4	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	1'29.709	0.405	0.348	233.033
5	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1'30.165	0.861	0.456	231.854
6	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1'30.261	0.957	0.096	231.608
7	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	1'30.322	1.018	0.061	231.451
8	George Russell	Mercedes	1'30.389	1.085	0.067	231.280
9	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	1'30.554	1.250	0.165	230.858
10	Lando Norris	McLaren	1'31.003	1.699	0.449	229.719
View full results