Red Bull showcased their strength by securing the front row in the qualifying session at Suzuka Circuit ahead of the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix. Led by Max Verstappen's standout performance, the team demonstrated their dominance. Verstappen, eager to bounce back from a disrupted win streak caused by a brake failure at the Melbourne Grand Prix, aims to convert his pole position into victory.

With eyes focused on Verstappen's quest for a third consecutive win at Suzuka, the Dutch driver delivered a solid performance, securing pole position, while teammate Sergio Perez complemented the lineup, setting the stage for a competitive race.

  • Qualifying 1 (Q1)

The qualifying session kicked off with teams facing many challenges on Suzuka's demanding track.

Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber's struggles continue as Zhou Guanyu grappled with his car's handling, expressing frustration with oversteer, resulting in a disappointing 20th-place finish. On a brighter note, Guanyu's teammate, Valtteri Bottas, delivered a commendable performance, securing 8th place and pushing Lance Stroll out of Q1, marking an unexpected setback for the Aston Martin driver. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso showcased the potential of his Aston Martin by securing a promising second place.

Alpine faced a mixed bag of fortunes as Pierre Gasly struggled with traction issues, settling for 17th place. Gasly's challenges highlighted the complexities of navigating Suzuka's slow-speed corners, impacting Alpine's overall performance. However, Esteban Ocon provided a glimmer of hope, clinching 13th place and advancing to Q2.

The drivers knocked out of Q1 were Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen, Logan Sargeant, and Zhou Guanyu.

  • Qualifying 2 (Q2)

During Q2, Red Bull's Verstappen and Perez opted for fresh soft tyres at the beginning of the session. The two drivers were evenly matched, with only 0.012 seconds separating their lap times. Unlike Red Bull, Mercedes initially used softs, later opting for new tyres, which benefited Hamilton in third place and Russell in seventh. Nico Hulkenberg had his lap time deleted due to exceeding track limits. Daniel Ricciardo's P10 performance was overshadowed by Tsunoda's late push, knocking him out by a mere tenth of a second.

Throughout the session, Red Bull maintained its strong performance, with Perez trailing Verstappen by only 0.012 seconds.

The drivers knocked out of Q2 were Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon.

  • Qualifying 3 (Q3)

As Q3 got underway, Yuki Tsunoda and Charles Leclerc had only one set of soft tyres each. With six minutes remaining, Leclerc exited the pits and completed his qualifying run, managing only the seventh-fastest time. He expressed his frustration over the radio, saying, "That's the best I can do, honestly. I don't get it." Confusion was widespread among drivers, including veterans like Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton's engineer informed him of a half-second gap to Max Verstappen, prompting Hamilton to ask, "Where's that half a second, man?"

Alonso's engineer also noted a tenth-and-a-half gap between Carlos Sainz in fourth and Alonso in seventh. Alonso expressed his frustration over the radio, saying, "Yeah, I don't know what to do to go faster, mate. I thought it was a good lap."

Max Verstappen set a blistering 1:28.197 lap time in a stellar display, securing his 36th pole position in Formula 1, the fourth consecutive pole this season. Joining Verstappen at the front is his teammate Sergio Perez, who missed out on pole by a mere 0.066 seconds. This achievement marked Red Bull's 27th front-row lockout. The second row consists of Lando Norris and his former McLaren teammate Carlos Sainz.

In the post-qualifying interview, Verstappen commented on his team's qualifying run: "It's great as a team to be P1 and P2, but hopefully, we can keep that going for tomorrow." Additionally, Fernando Alonso surged to fifth on his final lap, leading the midfield pack, followed by birthday boy Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton, and Charles Leclerc, who dropped to eighth. The top 10 was completed by Mercedes' George Russell and Visa Cash App RB's Yuki Tsunoda.

  • Driver to watch

In his third Q3 appearance this season, Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda is earning recognition as an underrated talent by many experts. He has outperformed his teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, with a 4-0 record this season. Speaking to SkySports in an interview, Tsunoda admitted feeling the pressure but expressed satisfaction with reaching Q3, stating, "I'm not going to lie, I felt more pressure this time, but yeah, still able to go to Q3. It wasn't easy; I struggled with the balance, but overall, as a team, we did a fantastic job. Daniel is behind me, so we can play with some strategies and try to score points."

"Tomorrow is the race," Tsunoda continued, "I'll do whatever I can. We have a good chance to score points because I think one Aston (Martin) is behind, so we will try our best. Even one point counts. If we can get both cars on points, it'll be perfect."