Formula One F1 – Japan’s Grand Prix – Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan, Japan – April 5, 2025, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will pose after qualifying for pole positions with the second McLaren Landorris and the third Oscar Piastri. Reuters/Yamada Manami
Suzuka, Japan’s world champion Max Verstappen took pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday, stunning McLarens on a slow lap, locking the top spot on the grid for the fourth consecutive year at Suzuka.
Championship leaders Randorris and Oscar Piastri’s McLarens have dominated qualifying so far this season and appeared to do so again until at the end of the session Verstappen was reminded of a lap record of 1 minute 26.983 seconds.
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Briton Norris starts at the front row next to the Dutch, but Australian Piastri, who won China two weeks ago, will be in the second row alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclair.
“There’s a lot of happiness when I cross the line,” said the four times the world champion who won on Suzuka’s pole for the past three years.
“The whole qualifying round, we just kept trying to improve things a bit, and the final lap was really good.
Formula One F1 – Japan’s Grand Prix – Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan – On April 5, 2025, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will celebrate after qualifying in pole position. Reuters/Ichishima Kato Tpx Images of the day
“Even this weekend, when I see how our season started, I think it’s very unexpected. I think it’s going to be very special.”
It was Verstappen’s 41st pole, the first time since Austria’s Grand Prix last June, but he was the fastest in qualifying in the second half of his season in Qatar and was handed the first place penalty.
“Congratulations to Max. He did a good job. It put on a hat. You have to trust someone when it’s good on your knees,” Norris said. “I feel like I got everything from the car. It’s just a small (margin) but Max did a great rap.”
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After actually showing a good pace, George Russell will be disappointed by the fifth-place third-row spot, alongside Mercedes teammate Andrea Kimi Antoneri.
Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda came in a disappointing 15th place in his first race in the Red Bull car after replacing Liam Lawson last week. Lawson begins a spot in front of him for the Race Bulls.
“I didn’t expect this to happen. How did it come to this day,” Tsunoda said. “That’s a shame, but at least the positive thing is that I’ve started to understand cars.”
Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar overcomes seat belt issues early in qualifying and begins the race from seventh on the grid alongside Ferrari’s seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in the eighth.
Another impressive rookie was Haas’s teenage driver, Ollie Bearman. He will be in his third qualifying session for the first time, starting 10th in the fifth row along with Williams’ Alex Albon.
The action was confused for the fifth time in two days in the second qualifying session with trackside glass fire, despite the organizers taking precautions.
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“I don’t think that if it rains overnight, tomorrow will be such a big problem,” Piastri said.
