F1 qualifying

Max Verstappen pipped Charles Leclerc for pole position in a fascinatingly close qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix - although the world champion ...

"I saw he was coming quite quick and I wanted to stay ahead of him, and as soon as I accelerated I lost the rear by having cold tyres. 10) Lando Norris "But I was at the point of acceleration, I was on very cold tyres so I had a little moment and that's why he had to drive around me. 8) George Russell 7) Fernando Alonso 6) Lewis Hamilton 2) Charles Leclerc "I mean it was quite clear he tried to [block me]," Norris told Sky Sports F1. 1) Max Verstappen "But if you're just a bit more respectful, then everyone is anyway already lining up. Norris had to take swift avoiding action onto the grass. Before the lap that would eventually give him pole, the Dutchman was driving slowly along the fastest section of track, warming up his tyres.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix, the 18th round of the 2022 F1 World Championship.

In a marathon Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Sergio Perez’s victory was only assured hours after the race due to a stewards investigation. A testing return to the Singapore Grand Prix in tricky conditions created plenty of hazards and mistakes for the Formula 1 drivers to fall into. After seemingly being stuck in limbo at AlphaTauri - too good to let go, but not a realistic prospect for a Red Bull return - Pierre Gasly has finally shaken off the shackles to join Alpine.

Max Verstappen takes pole from Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. The Red Bull driver is under investigation however for an incident with Lando Norris.

The Red Bull driver appeared to light up his rear tyres, causing his car to go sideways before collecting it without spinning. [Sebastian Vettel](/formula-1-drivers/sebastian-vettel) will start from ninth in his final qualifying around Suzuka. [Red Bull](/formula-1-teams/red-bull) driver was 0.010s quicker on his best lap, showing strong pace in the middle sector compared to Leclerc.

Max Verstappen has avoided a penalty for the Japanese Grand Prix after an incident with Lando Norris in qualifying, with the stewards opting to issue a ...

[READ MORE: Verstappen enjoys ‘incredible’ run to pole at Suzuka as he explains near-miss with Norris](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.verstappen-enjoys-incredible-run-to-pole-at-suzuka-as-he-explains-near-miss.7vWYJqkYYSOhW3qLn3joBX.html) [victory and fastest lap](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.points-permutations-what-verstappen-needs-to-do-to-win-his-second-drivers.2y2rFRR2d2o6LRHPijDzLP.html) ensuring that he claims the title ahead of Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez no matter where his rivals finish. “The driver of car 4 stated that this was simply an unfortunate incident, however it is the driver’s responsibility to at all times maintain control of their car. “Unfortunately, due to lack of tyre temperature on car 1, the driver temporarily lost control of the car causing it to ‘snap’ anti-clockwise. “The driver of car 1 (Verstappen) was aware of car 55 (Sainz) in front and car 4 (Norris) approaching from behind and decided to accelerate at precisely the same time as car 4 decided to overtake car 1,” read the stewards’ report. [READ MORE: Verstappen beats Leclerc and Sainz to pole position in ultra-close Japanese GP qualifying](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.verstappen-beats-leclerc-and-sainz-to-pole-position-in-ultra-close-japanese.6HG2NmvCVZfVGq3WkiXze.html)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen grabbed pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix, increasing his chances of wrapping up the 2022 world title this weekend, ...

[recently announced as an Alpine driver](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-gasly-to-race-for-alpine-alongside-ocon-in-2023.2KAog8YGlyBOFO5SskzYXD.html) for the 2023 season – could not follow team mate Tsunoda through to Q2 after complaining of brake issues that led to a heavy lock-up at Turn 11 on his final effort. As Norris rounded 130R to begin a push lap, he encountered a slow-moving Verstappen just after the apex, with the Red Bull darting to the left under acceleration, before being pulled back to the right. A host of other improvements knocked Sainz and Leclerc down the order, but they made it through to Q3 in P6 and P9 respectively. Some say it will be dry, some say it will be raining at some point during the race. [FP3 pace-setter Verstappen](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.fp3-verstappen-leads-the-way-from-sainz-and-leclerc-in-dry-final-practice-at.76Ww9SxjqK1hjN8WO1WwKr.html) who continued to lead the way with a time of 1m 30.244s on softs – immediately smashing his benchmark from final practice. Vettel starred in ninth, with Norris 10th and the slowest Q3 runner after his compromised session. “It was pretty incredible to drive here again, especially in qualifying when you are on low fuel – these cars really come alive through the first sector. Ricciardo got knocked out as a result by 0.003s, with both Alfa Romeos, Tsunoda and Schumacher also eliminated. “It will be interesting first of all to see [what happens with] the weather [on race day]. McLaren team mates Ricciardo and Norris placed seventh and eighth respectively, as Zhou completed the top 10. As the sun withdrew again – and Verstappen, Sainz and Leclerc remained in the pits – Perez stormed to P1 with another run and a time of 1m 29.925s, putting him almost half a second clear up front. [the latter’s five-place grid penalty](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.latifi-hit-with-5-place-grid-penalty-for-japanese-gp-after-clash-with-zhou.31uKqEI0YoAR68lnyL980N.html) for clashing with Zhou in Singapore not resulting in a change to the order.

Max Verstappen held on to pole position for the Japanese GP after Lando Norris withdrew his accusation that the Dutchman had intentionally forced him off ...

"He [Max] is not looking in his mirrors, he looks like he's got on the throttle to try and warm the tyres up and that's put him in a position that looks like he's moving over on Lando. Lando even said it was an unfortunate incident, but Max did lose control of the car," Herbert said. Maybe he saw it as I was trying to turn in on him but I lost the car and I couldn't have done anything else." "It's just when you are in the car, once you see every on-board, it makes a lot more sense," he said. I was just trying to warm my tyres a bit and then in my mirrors I saw he was coming quite quick and I wanted to stay ahead of him, and as soon as I accelerated I lost the rear by having cold tyres. They've been following each other all the way around the circuit until that point." "None of it was intentional but the problem is that it could have been a massive incident and was very close to being a massive incident between the two cars." "But if you're just a bit more respectful, then everyone is anyway already lining up. Should he have done that? [Verstappen keeps pole, has title chance, after reprimand for Norris near-miss](https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/12715129/japanese-gp-qualifying-max-verstappen-takes-and-keeps-pole-position-after-reprimand-for-lando-norris-incident) [Gasly joining Alpine for 2023 "I had a big moment and tried to correct the car, and that's why he had to go through the grass. "We were on our out-lap and we were all lining up to try to create a gap to everyone, and somehow he still wanted to get me into the chicane, but I was at the point of acceleration, but I was on very cold tyres so I had a little moment and that's why he had to drive around me," he said.

Lando Norris expects Max Verstappen to land a penalty for their near-miss at 130R in Formula 1 qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday, ...

In a marathon Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Sergio Perez’s victory was only assured hours after the race due to a stewards investigation. A testing return to the Singapore Grand Prix in tricky conditions created plenty of hazards and mistakes for the Formula 1 drivers to fall into. After seemingly being stuck in limbo at AlphaTauri - too good to let go, but not a realistic prospect for a Red Bull return - Pierre Gasly has finally shaken off the shackles to join Alpine.

Max Verstappen says Lando Norris should have been more "respectful" after the pair almost collided during qualifying at Suzuka.

“But nevertheless, the first one was good enough.” “I was wondering.” “We were all on out-lap and we were all lining up to try and create a gap to everyone,” he explained. “So then I had a big moment. So basically by trying to pass me you create that kind of problem.” “And somehow he still wanted to get me into the chicane.

Max Verstappen has a great chance of sealing his second world championship at the Japanese GP after pipping Charles Leclerc for pole position - and keeping ...

"I saw he was coming quite quick and I wanted to stay ahead of him, and as soon as I accelerated I lost the rear by having cold tyres. 10) Lando Norris "But I was at the point of acceleration, I was on very cold tyres so I had a little moment and that's why he had to drive around me. 8) George Russell 7) Fernando Alonso 6) Lewis Hamilton 2) Charles Leclerc "I mean it was quite clear he tried to [block me]," Norris told Sky Sports F1. 1) Max Verstappen "But if you're just a bit more respectful, then everyone is anyway already lining up. Norris had to take swift avoiding action onto the grass. Before the lap that would eventually give him pole, the Dutchman was driving slowly along the fastest section of track, warming up his tyres.

Lando Norris has called for the Stewards to award Max Verstappen a grid penalty following a close call which happened during Q3 of qualifying for the ...

When asked by Sky Sports F1 if Verstappen did purposely block him, Norris replied: “It was quite clear he tried to do that, yeah. Upon seeing the Brit driver attempting the overtake, it appeared as if the Dutchman moved over to block him which sent Norris across the grass. Lando Norris has called for the Stewards to award Max Verstappen a grid penalty following a close call which happened during Q3 of qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Live coverage of Saturday's Formula 1 qualifying session for the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka.

Mercedes couldn't match the pace of Red Bull, Ferrari and even Alpine in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell ...

Hopefully we will be a little bit faster than we are today as we often are in the race. You don’t really see that deficit in the straight-line speed but here that weakness has truly been exposed.” Not perfect but not as far off as the lap time showed. I’m pushing the pedal as hard as I can, but we can’t go any faster. We are losing a huge amount of lap time down the straights compared to our rivals. “We’ve had a very draggy car all year.

Max Verstappen managed to claim pole position with a commanding Q3 performance at Suzuka on Saturday morning.

Who will manage to secure a front-row grid start in Japan? "Somehow he [Norris] still wanted to get me into the chicane. "There's no rule in doing what you can do, but doing what he did is something you can't do. "But however, Max did lose control of the car. They've been following each other all the way around the circuit until that point." [Charles Leclerc](/latest/charles-leclerc), meanwhile, will line up in second place for Sunday's race after narrowly missing out on pole by less than one-tenth ahead of Carlos Sainz in third. you can't brake," he fumed via team radio. [Max Verstappen](/latest/max-verstappen) managed to grab pole position for this year's Japanese Grand Prix with a dominant performance in qualifying on Saturday morning. Max Verstappen, who topped the standings in FP3 earlier, will be the favourite to beat the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to pole position at the end of today's session. "If you're just a little bit respectful... The brakes... Max Verstappen crosses the line at the end of his first run to set a lap time of 1:29.304 and get himself on top of the standings.

Stars clash as Verstappen slams rival's lack of 'respect'; frustrated Ricciardo's X-rated rant: F1 Wrap.

It was a fun qualifying.” Sainz was close behind his teammate with a time of 1min 29.361sec and said he was “fed up” of missing out on pole. “The first sector feels crazy. “So, Lando decided that he wants to jump the queue as they head up to that final chicane. Leclerc was just a whisker away from claiming his third straight pole. He was warming the tyres up to start the lap. “It was a good lap, clean all the way into the last chicane but it overcooked a bit heading into the last chicane and it cost me quite a bit of lap time,” said the Spaniard. Verstappen was given a reprimand but will remain in pole. “It feels good to drive and it was a clean session for me, but we are just a long way off in terms of the ultimate pace,” he said. Carlos Sainz was third in the other Ferrari. They go one-by-one through the chicane. They were following each other around the lap until that point. “But I was on the point of accelerating and I was on very cold tyres, so I had a little moment and that’s why he had to drive around me.