Status: 23/09/2023, 23:36 p.m.
By: Luca Hartmann
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Formula 1 is visiting Japan this weekend. Max Verstappen once again starts the race from pole position. We are part of the live ticker.
- Formula 1: Japanese Grand Prix, Sunday, 7 a.m. (CEST)
- Max Verstappen uncatchable: World champion dominates qualifying
- This live ticker will be updated continuously
Suzuka – The irritated lion strikes back - and how! After the disenchantment of his Red Bull team in Singapore, Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen impressively set the record straight in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix and showed off the competition on a single lap. Ferrari and Mercedes had no chance, his teammate Sergio Perez was once again hopelessly inferior, even McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in second and third place had to swallow more than half a second on one lap.
Formula 1: Japanese Grand Prix – the grid
| 1 Verstappen | 2 Piastri | 3 Norris | 4 Leclerc |
| 5 Perez | 6 Sainz | 7 Hamilton | 8 Russell |
| 9 Tsunoda | 10 Alonso | 11 Lawson | 12 Gasly |
| 13 Albon | 14 Ocon | 15 Magnussen | 16 Bottas |
| 17 Stroll | 18 Hülkenberg | 19 Zhou | 20 Sargeant |
Formula 1 live ticker: Verstappen again the favorite in Japan
"I pushed to the limit, it was really fun," said Verstappen, who wanted to prove something after finishing fifth the previous week. And the distance to the pursuers? "I noticed it. It's quite a lot," Verstappen commented with a laugh. In the press conference, he gave one to his critics: "We had a bad weekend in Singapore. Of course, people then start saying, 'It's all down to the technical guidelines'. I think they can warp."
Singapore have "put it in the bones of the entire team - especially him. Here he proved that the car is very good, the team is very good, but he is the very best," said Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko happily at the Sky microphone: "Everything is back on track."
Formula 1 in Japan: McLaren surprises in qualifying
The biggest and possibly only chance of McLaren's young stars Piastri, who achieved his best qualifying result with second place on the grid, and Norris are likely to be at the start. "Of course you try to overtake," said the 22-year-old Australian Piastri almost meekly. McLaren boss Zak Brown ventured a little more out of cover: "We want to get in front of him and make his life difficult."
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But how is that supposed to work? Verstappen dominated every practice session in Japan before putting on his big show in qualifying. The 25-year-old distanced his teammate Perez, who finished fifth, by 29.1 seconds on just one lap as he drove to his 1th pole position in Formula 5. At the start on Sunday (7:00 a.m. CEST/Sky), the Mexican will be framed by Charles Leclerc's Ferraris in fourth place and Singapore winner Carlos Sainz in sixth. Nico Hülkenberg from Emmerich starts the race from 18th on the grid in the Haas, and the 36-year-old has been waiting for world championship points for almost three months.
Max Verstappen during practice at Suzuka. © Toru Hanai/AP
Formula 1: Sargeant crash in qualifying
In the first qualifying section, the session was interrupted for a long time after a serious crash by Williams driver Logan Sargeant. The American remained uninjured, but did not make a good application for a contract extension. Brazilian Felipe Drugovich is now considered the first candidate to replace him for the 2024 season, while Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher is hoping for at least another chance in Formula 1.
Red Bull, which won the first 14 races of the season up to the round in Singapore, can make the constructors' championship perfect on Sunday and thus already in the seventh-to-last Grand Prix of the year. Red Bull must score at least one point more than the first pursuer Mercedes and may lose a maximum of 23 points to the world championship third Ferrari. That is quite likely, Marko commented smugly after Verstappen's qualifying show.
Verstappen almost uncatchable in the Formula 1 drivers' standings
Verstappen has a 151-point lead over Perez in the drivers' standings, and the 25-year-old can celebrate his third title in a row at the following Grand Prix on 8 October in Losail/Qatar if things go well. (sid)
