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End of Q1
Q1 is in the books and we’ll be saying goodbye to Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Ocon, Doohan, and Stroll. For the first time this season, Lawson has made it through to Q2 after taking the chequered flag with the 15th fastest time. Hadjar, meanwhile, has driven through the pain and gone 13th fastest.
Up the other end, Piastri was quickest with a time of 1:27.687.
Piastri looks set to record the quickest lap of Q1, we’re now waiting to see who will survive the cut-off.
Antonelli is out for one last flying lap with less than a minute of Q1 remaining… and he’s gone seventh fastest! He’ll be back for Q2.
Tsunoda’s front and rear wing have undergone some alterations for this weekend, sacrificing some level of speed in return for control.
Hadjar, meanwhile, is heading back out there for one last attempt to stay alive in qualifying. He’s clearly having issues with his seat belt and is on the radio apologising to his garage if this issue is what torpedoes their qualifying.
Lawson, Alonso, Antonelli, Hadjar, and Stroll are out bottom five with just over five minutes of Q1 remaining.
Hadjar is in the pits and is looking very uncomfortable in the cockpit.
With his new softs on, Hamilton sets the sixth fastest time, he should be safe for Q2 now.
Everyone has now logged a time and as it stands it’s Lawson, Antonelli, Hamilton, Hadjar, and Stroll that are the five slowest.
Hamilton has already shed his mediums for some softs.
Isack Hadjar completes his first lap, going 12th fastest, and then gets on the radio complaining about the same problem in the cockpit that he had earlier today. Coverage suggesting that he’s having some issues with his seat belt.
George Russell comes around for his first flying lap and he’s split the McLaren’s, going second behind Piastri and ahead of Norris.
Verstappen logs his first time of Q1 and he’s gone second fastest, just 0.127 behind Norris.
It’s not long, however, until he’s moved down to third as Oscar Piastri sets a new fastest time with 1:28.143.
Some of the leading teams now starting to set initial times now and it’s Norris that has gone to the front of the pack with a 1:28.233. He’s followed by Leclerc and Tsunoda.
Hamilton has come out for Q1 on a set of medium tyres, it seems. Looking like they’re going to try and keep a set of soft tyres in reserve for later.
Drivers starting to log some times now, Bearman quickest followed by Hulkenberg, Sainz, Ocon, and Doohan.
Jack Doohan being very particular about making sure that his DRS is closed as he hits the corners – the Australian left it on as he attempted to go around turn one in P2 and it was behind is major bingle.
Q1 Starts
The cars are making their way onto the track, the 18 minutes are counting down, and the first qualifying session of the Japanese Grand Prix is underway!
The start of qualification is imminent and if you need a reminder, here’s how it works.
All 20 cars will hit the circuit in a first qualifying session – Q1 – and will have 18 minutes to record a lap time. The five slowest cars at the end of that will drop out, with the remaining 15 drivers hitting the circuit once more for Q2 and given a further 15 minutes to set a time.
A further five cars will be culled at that point, with the last ten left standing provided with 12 minutes – maybe just enough time for two laps – to set a fastest time in Q3.
Ooooh, they’ve already updated the intro to show Lawson in his Racing Bulls gear and Tsunoda in his Red Bull apparel. No mucking about in the production team.
One of the most striking features of the Suzuka Circuit are the cherry blossoms that can be found around the track, blooms which Haas have paid tribute to with a special livery for this weekend.
We’re just under 20 minutes away from the start of qualifying and given that Verstappen has won from pole in the last three races at Suzuka, it could prove decisive.
One of the major things to watch in qualifying is the potential for fires to break out on the course. There’s plenty of dry grass around the track and it’s ignited three times across the various practice sessions staged thus far.
The coverage has shown marshals serving as make-shift gardeners as they attempt to water any potential flashpoints and mitigate the risks of further blazes and, hopefully, that prevents any future flashpoints.
Rain is forecast overnight which should hopefully lessen the risk of any interruptions to the main event, as well.
After a heavy crash in FP2, one of the biggest questions heading into today was if the Alpine of Jack Doohan would be repaired in time to hit the track. Those concerns were quickly addressed, though, when the Australian hit the track with all his parts bar a power united replaced.
How has Max Verstappen reacted to Liam Lawson’s demotion? If his Instagram activity was anything to go by, he wasn’t impressed.
Of course, social media isn’t real life, right? Maybe it was a slip of the finger?
“Well, I liked the comment, the text, so I guess that speaks for itself; it [the like] was not a mistake.” Welp.
The Team Standings, meanwhile, reflect the speed that Norris and Piastri have shown throughout the season so far.
McLaren - 78
Mercedes - 57
Red Bull - 36
Williams - 17
Ferrari - 17
Haas - 14
Aston Martin - 10
Sauber - 6
Racing Bulls - 3
Yep, two races in and Ocon and his Haas are ahead of both Hamilton and Leclerc in their Ferraris. Not exactly what we were all expecting heading into the season, with this the worst start to a campaign for the Italian team since 2010.
With races in Australia and China already in the books, here’s everyone who has logged points in the Drivers’ Standings heading into the Japanese GP.
Lando Norris, McLaren - 44
Max Verstappen, Red Bull - 36
George Russell, Mercedes - 35
Oscar Piastri, McLaren - 34
Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes - 22
Alex Albon, Williams - 16
Esteban Ocon, Haas - 10
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin - 10
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari - 9
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari - 8
Nico Hülkenberg, Sauber - 6
Ollie Bearman, Haas - 4
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull (Pointes earned with Racing Bulls) – 3
Carlos Sainz, Williams - 1
Preamble
Joey Lynch
Afternoon all and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of qualifying at the legendary Suzuka Circuit, as the 2025 Formula One World Championship season hits Japan.
My name is Joey Lynch and after missing out on Shanghai because I was an hour’s bullet train ride away watching Australia beat China in World Cup qualifying in Hangzhou, I’m back to take you through qualifying as well as tomorrow’s race.
All eyes, undoubtedly, are set to be on Yuki Tsunoda this weekend. Not only is it the Japanese driver’s home race but it’s his first since he was promoted to sit in the (maybe cursed?) number two seat at Red Bull following the unceremonious dumping of Liam Lawson after just two races.
The 24-year-old showed promise in the chaos that was yesterday’s practice sessions and landed in the top 10 in today’s final hit out before qualifying. No prize for guessing who has shown the most pace, however, with the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri again going fastest in the earlier session.
Qualifying starts at 3pm JST/11pm PST/6am GMT/5pm AEDT.
