Japan - Qualifying

After a short, two-week break, Formula One moved to Japan for the fourth race of the season. With the exciting and unexpected Sunday in Australia, a lot is at stake for most of the drivers. Max Verstappen is eager to get back onto the top step of the podium, Carlos Sainz wants to show that his great race was not a one-off, both Williams drivers need to prove themselves, and that is just to name a few of the storylines we watch for over the weekend. 

Regarding qualifying, it started with Magnussen as the first car on the track, while the other drivers waited in the pits for a few more minutes. Since most of them wanted to drive out at about the same time, a queue formed at the pit exit. With the cars so close to each other, it was a matter of time before a complaint was made to the stewards. This time, it came from Piastri who reported Russel for an unsafe release.  Soon after, all twenty cars were out on track. The two Red Bulls quickly topped the leaderboards, only to be split by Alonso. Tsunoda, with great support from all the fans who came to watch him at his home race, put in a very good performance and easily secured a place in Q2, alongside his RB teammate, Ricciardo. Haas, Alpine, and Kick Sauber fought for spots in the top 15 and both managed to send one driver into the next session. Stroll, Gasly, Magnussen, Sargeant, and Zhou were knocked out. 

Q2 began with Verstappen putting in a great lap and, once again, placing himself at the coveted P1. His teammate was only 0,012s behind. Hulkenberg had his first lap deleted due to exceeding track limits at turn 13 while Sainz reported a slight issue with his throttle. The end of the second session saw the two RB drivers fighting for a place in Q3, and although both achieved good laps, Tsunoda was the one who secured the spot. Still, the P11 starting position is Ricciardo's best qualifying effort of the 2024 season. Hulkenberg, Bottas, Albon, and Ocon didn't make it into the top 10. 

First laps of Q3 were a battle for the front row between Mercedes and Red Bull, which ended with the Red Bulls at P1 and P2 yet again. The last session of the day was not without its problems; Hamilton, Alonso, and Leclerc all voiced their annoyance as they believed they'd done all they could with the cars, only to be left with less-than-satisfying results. They ended at P7, P5, and P8 respectively. 

Order of the grid:

1. Max Verstappen

2. Sergio Perez

3. Lando Norris

4. Carlos Sainz

5. Fernando Alonso

6. Oscar Piastri

7. Lewis Hamilton

8. Charles Leclerc

9. George Russel

10. Yuki Tsunoda

11. Daniel Ricciardo

12. Nico Hulkenberg

13. Valtteri Bottas

14. Alex Albon

15. Esteban Ocon

16. Lance Stroll

17. Pierre Gasly

18. Kevin Magnussen

19. Logan Sargeant

20. Zhou Guanyu