Max Verstappen claimed pole position in a qualifying session which saw a record sox red flags come out.
Q1
The nature of the Bakushin street circuit makes it prone to crashes, which Alex Albon would find after turning in a little too early at turn 1, hitting the wall at the apex and damaging his front left wheel, taking him out of the session and bringing out a red flag.
A second red flag would be brought out after Nico Hulkenberg would lock up and hit the barrier at turn 4. This would break his front wing, but he would be able to continue on.
A third red flag would be brought out at the end of Q1, as turn 4 proved to be a difficult corner for both of the Alpine cars. First, Gasly locked up and went down the escape road, before Colapinto would arrive at the corner and lose all grip, hitting sliding into the wall at the exit of the corner. Both would be knocked out of qualifying as a result.
ELIMINATED
16. Franco Colapinto – Alpine +0.113
17. Nico Hulkenberg – Kick Sauber +0.250
18. Esteban Ocon – Haas +0.338
19. Pierre Gasly – Alpine +0.473
20. Alex Albon – Williams +1.112
Q2
Turn 4 continued to be a difficult corner for the drivers, after Isack Hadjar would lock up at that corner on his first out lap. Fortunately for him, he went down the escape road and avoided contact with the wall, allowing him to continue.
Someone who would not be able to continue was Ollie Bearman, who hit the wall after a loss of grip on the exit of turn 2. This caused damage to his car that meant he had to stop on the track, bringing out a fourth red flag for the day.
Charles Leclerc would have a difficult moment at the start of his first lap, as he got a snap of oversteer at turn 1, using some quick thinking to pull his car into the escape road to avoid a collision, though it would compromise Hamilton’s lap.
Leclerc would have another lock up on a following lap, this time at turn 4, but would eventually be able to get a clean lap in which would bring him through to Q3.
His teammate in Lewis Hamilton however would not be able to make it through, only putting in a lap good enough for 12th place.
ELIMINATED
11. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin+0.069
12. Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari +0.395
13. Gabriel Bortoleto – Kick Sauber +0.489
14. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin +1.273
15. Ollie Bearman – Haas NO TIME
Q3
Conditions appeared to get very difficult, with Antonelli saying that the track was like ice and Verstappen suggesting that rain was falling.
The greasy track caught out Charles Leclerc, who would crash while locking up into turn 15, taking him out of the session.
This crash looked as though it could be very beneficial to Sainz, Lawson and Hadjar, who all occupied the top 3 positions before the red flag was brought out, and should conditions continue to be difficult, they could remain there for the rest of the session.
The green flag would not be back out for long though, after Oscar Piastri would crash to bring out a record sixth red flag, the most in any qualifying session in F1 history.
As Piastri hadn’t set a lap before his crash, it provided Norris with an opportunity to try and put himself in a great place ahead of Sunday to try and claw some points back in the championship.
However, Norris would struggle, particularly around sector 2, putting in a lap that was only good enough for 7th.
As each driver completed their final laps, it looked more and more likely that Carlos Sainz would take a shock pole position for Williams, however Verstappen would be able to glide around the track with ease, going half a second quicker.
Qualifying Results
1. Max Verstappen – Red Bull 1:41.117
2. Carlos Sainz – Williams +0.478
3. Liam Lawson – Racing Bulls 0.590
4. Andrea Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes +0.600
5. George Russell – Mercedes +0.953
6. Yuki Tsunoda – Red Bull +1.026
7. Lando Norris – McLaren +1.122
8. Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls +1.255
9. Oscar Piastri – McLaren NO TIME
10. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari NO TIME
