Max Verstappen on pole after qualifying Japan: 'Excited for tomorrow'

Published on 08 October 2022 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen took pole position during qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix. The Dutchman, on his way to extend his word title, set a 1:29.304 for his first timed lap in Q3. This time was not improved during the rest of the session, so Verstappen took his eighteenth pole position in his Formula 1 career. The gap to Charles Leclerc in P2 was minimal, only one hundredth of a second. Carlos Sains and Sergio Pérez will start on the second row of the grid.

“It was incredible to drive here again”, says a pleased Verstappen after the session. “Especially in qualifying these cars come alive in the first sector. Very happy to be on pole, but in general super happy to be back here in Japan. I lost a part of duct in my final lap; I think that is why I could not really improve. Nevertheless, the first lap was good enough.”

The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver explains what happened in the incident with Norris, when they almost collided in their warm-up lap: “I was driving quite slowly. And when I wanted to accelerate, my tyres were cold and I had a big moment. Lando was trying to pass me at the same time, and he had to avoid me. Luckily nothing happened.”

Looking ahead to the race tomorrow, Max says: “First of all, it will be interesting to see the weather. Some say it will be dry, some say it will be raining at one point during the race. We will need to see what happens with that. I am confident we have a good car, so excited for tomorrow.”

With a temperature of twenty degrees, qualifying gets underway. Max Verstappen sets the fastest time of 1:30.224 in his first timed lap. The championship leader only does one lap, as did both Ferrari drivers, Fernando Alonso and teammate Sergio Pérez. Alexander Albon, Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen, Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi are the first drivers to drop out of qualifying.

Max starts the second part of qualifying with a 1:30.346, a tenth ahead of both Ferraris in P2 and P3. Everyone is very close together, with only three and a half tenths between Verstappen and George Russell in ninth place. Again, Max only does one lap, as did both Ferraris. This time Q2 is the end of qualifying for Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu and Mick Schumacher.

The start of the third part of qualifying did not go completely smooth for Max. He almost loses control over his RB18 in the warm-up lap, when at the same time Lando Norris tries to pass the Dutchman. The McLaren driver had to avoid a collision and goes through the grass. While nothing happened, the FIA is going to investigate the incident after qualifying.

After the first run, Verstappen leads with a 1:29.304. Charles Leclerc (+0.253), Carlos Sainz (+0.398), Sergio Pérez (+0.690), Fernando Alonso (+1.018) and Sebastian Vettel (+1.653) form the provisional top six. Max goes for it a second time in the final phase of qualifying, but he goes wide when exiting turn two. He loses a part of the car and does not improve his time, nevertheless he his faster than Charles Leclerc, who was only one hundredth of a second slower. Carlos Sainz, Sergio Pérez, Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton complete the top six.

Contest GP Japan: win a by Max Verstappen signed blue RBR Driver Cap 2022!

Results qualifying Japan: