The Suzuka Circuit was doubled by Red Bull with Pérez coming second in the race that takes place this Sunday, 7
Apr 6, 2024 – 5:35 a.m.
(updated at 8:16 am)
Max Verstappen takes pole in Australia
Foto: Red Bull / Twitter
Without any major surprises, the world leader, Max Verstappen, will start first in the Japanese Formula 1 GP after winning pole position in qualifying in the early hours of this Saturday, 6th, at the Suzuka Circuit. Red Bull had a double victory with Sergio Pérez, who will come second in the race. Third place went to Lando Norris from McLaren.
The race takes place this Sunday, 7th, at 2am (Brasilia time) and could be crucial in changing the lead in the competition classification, depending on the results.
In his fourth pole position of the year and 36th of his career, the Dutch champion was already demonstrating what was to come in free practice, in which he led the first and third sessions, in the last one he achieved the best time with 1m29s563, followed by his teammate, Perez. Mercedes also demonstrated prominence in training, with Hamilton and Russell in the top five, but they did not maintain the same progress during qualifying, where they placed 7th and 9th, respectively.
In Q1, Magnussen kicked off the circuit and opened the timesheet with 1min31s203, but soon a queue formed at the exit of the pits and he was left behind. Verstappen led the first stage, followed by Fernando Alonso, from Aston Martin, who was second and Sergio Perez in third. Lance Stroll, from Aston Martin; Pierre Gasly, from Alpine; the Danish Kevin Magnussen, from Haas; the American Logan Sargeant, from Williams; and Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu, from Sauber, were the first to be eliminated.
The second part of training continued with the Red Bull duo intact, Max in first place and Perez in second. Norris, Alonso and Piastri initially formed the top five, followed by a double dose of Mercedes with Hamilton ahead of Russell, but Lewis ended up advancing and finished third. Daniel Ricciardo, from Racing Bulls; Nico Hulkenberg, from Haas; Valtteri Bottas, from Sauber; Alexander Albon, from Williams; and Frenchman Esteban Ocon, from Alpine, were left behind and did not advance to Q3.
In the final, Lando Norris surprised and achieved the second best time, just behind Verstappen, and competed for second place with Perez. The Mexican, in turn, guaranteed the double for Red Bull by improving his time in the final minutes. Hamilton, for the first time this season, will start ahead of his teammate. Leclerc left the pits with just six minutes left in Q3 for his first flying lap and only managed eighth place.
Check out the starting grid for the Formula 1 Japanese GP
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