Ferrari resurgence continues but Perez must find 16kph to match Verstappen
Just five days after failing to win a grand prix for the first time in 2023 following a weekend in Singapore where they were far from being the best team, Red Bull arrived in Japan eager to seize back the narrative and remind everyone they are the team to beat every weekend at every circuit.
AlphaTauri confirm Tsunoda and Ricciardo for 2024 season
AlphaTauri have confirmed Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo will remain their drivers for the 2024 Formula 1 season.
Verstappen fastest again in final practice ahead of McLaren duo
Max Verstappen completed a hat-trick of fastest practice times by setting the best lap in the final practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Japanese GP
Practice Session 3
Pos No. Driver Team Model Time Gap Laps
1 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull RB19 1:30.267s - 12
2 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes MCL60 1:30.507s 0.240s 15
3 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes MCL60 1:30.555s 0.288s 14
4 11 Sergio Perez Red Bull RB19 1:31.004s 0.737s 12
5 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-23 1:31.022s 0.755s 19
6 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Ferrari SF-23 1:31.137s 0.870s 19
7 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes W14 1:31.159s 0.892s 12
8 63 George Russell Mercedes W14 1:31.505s 1.238s 9
9 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR23 1:31.549s 1.282s 15
10 24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari C43 1:31.668s 1.401s 14
11 77 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari C43 1:31.699s 1.432s 15
12 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari VF-23 1:31.880s 1.613s 15
13 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault A523 1:31.924s 1.657s 13
14 22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-RedBull AT04 1:31.951s 1.684s 17
15 27 Nico Hulkenberg Haas-Ferrari VF-23 1:31.979s 1.712s 12
16 2 Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes FW45 1:32.002s 1.735s 12
17 40 Liam Lawson AlphaTauri-RedBull AT04 1:32.048s 1.781s 18
18 23 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes FW45 1:32.113s 1.846s 12
19 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR23 1:32.154s 1.887s 19
20 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault A523 1:32.199s 1.932s 14
Verstappen takes dominant pole ahead of Piastri as Perez struggles to fifth
Max Verstappen secured pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix by over half a second from the two McLaren drivers.
Japanese GP
Qualifying Session
Pos No. Driver Team Model Time Gap Laps
1 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull RB19 1:28.877s - 12
2 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes MCL60 1:29.458s 0.581s 14
3 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes MCL60 1:29.493s 0.616s 12
4 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-23 1:29.542s 0.665s 14
5 11 Sergio Perez Red Bull RB19 1:29.650s 0.773s 18
6 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Ferrari SF-23 1:29.850s 0.973s 14
7 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes W14 1:29.908s 1.031s 18
8 63 George Russell Mercedes W14 1:30.219s 1.342s 15
9 22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-RedBull AT04 1:30.303s 1.426s 18
10 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR23 1:30.560s 1.683s 15
11 40 Liam Lawson AlphaTauri-RedBull AT04 1:30.508s 0.568s 16
12 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault A523 1:30.509s 0.569s 12
13 23 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes FW45 1:30.537s 0.597s 12
14 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault A523 1:30.586s 0.646s 12
15 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari VF-23 1:30.665s 0.725s 9
16 77 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari C43 1:31.049s 1.171s 5
17 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR23 1:31.181s 1.303s 7
18 27 Nico Hulkenberg Haas-Ferrari VF-23 1:31.299s 1.421s 6
19 24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari C43 1:31.398s 1.520s 6
20 2 Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes FW45 No time 2
“Crazy” gap to Red Bull leaves Hamilton fearing Mercedes won’t catch them for 2024
Lewis Hamilton fears Mercedes may not be able to reduce their performance deficit to Red Bull in time for the start of next season having qualified a second behind them in Japan.
Verstappen tells Red Bull critics to “go suck an egg” after dominant pole
Max Verstappen gave a clear rebuttal on and off-track to those who suggested Red Bull’s poor showing in the Singapore Grand Prix had been due to a rules clarification.
Sainz blames late set-up change for qualifying performance at Japanese GP
Carlos Sainz Jnr believes a late change to his car’s set-up compromised his qualifying result for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Russell admits he “took a step backwards” after Friday practice
George Russell said he’s “taken a step backwards” from Friday practice after qualifying eighth for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Steward’s admission Verstappen should have had penalty frustrates his rivals
Max Verstappen’s rivals were unimpressed to learn a steward from the Singapore Grand Prix admitted they made a mistake by failing to penalise him for an incident during qualifying.
Perez admits he’s “two steps behind” after qualifying 0.7s off Verstappen at Suzuka
Sergio Perez admitted he hasn’t been able to get on terms with team mate’s Max Verstappen’s pace at Suzuka this weekend.
No penalties for Leclerc, Bottas and Zhou for exceeding lap time limit
Charles Leclerc, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu have been cleared by the stewards for exceeding the maximum lap time limit in qualifying.
Sargeant was having ‘good day’ until ‘another hugely costly small mistake’
Logan Sargeant says he had made an encouraging start to his first race weekend at Suzuka until a high-speed crash put him out of qualifying.
Piastri says he could have gone quicker after claiming front row spot on Suzuka debut
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri says he was pleased to secure second on the grid at Suzuka despite knowing he could have gone faster.
Suzuka layout ‘punishes’ Mercedes’ weakness in high-speed corners
Suzuka’s high-speed corners amplified a weakness of Mercedes’ car and left their drivers on the fourth row of the grid over a second behind pole-winner Max Verstappen.