(Suzuka) The disappointment of Singapore already seems far away for Max Verstappen: undisputed leader of the Formula 1 World Championship, the Dutchman will start in the leading position of the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, where his Red Bull team has a chance of being crowned in the constructors’ championship.
“It’s been an incredible weekend so far, especially in qualifying, the car was really nice to drive,” the Dutchman savored on Saturday, a week after his poor performance in Singapore where, suffering at the wheel of his single-seater, he started only 11th on the grid.
This is the 9th leading position for the double champion of the discipline this season, on the verge of being crowned for the 3rd time in a row. A new title which will however not be for this weekend, the Batavian could still in theory be joined by his pursuers in the championship.
If the drivers’ title is promised to “Mad Max”, the constructors’ title should not escape his team either, as the domination of the reigning world champion team this season is so insolent.
Last weekend, Red Bull already had a first theoretical chance of achieving this, but it notably needed its drivers to finish in the first two places in the Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen finished an anonymous 5th place, his teammate Sergio Pérez finished 8th, ending the record streak of ten victories in a row for the former and 15 for Red Bull.
On the legendary Suzuka track, the Austrian team (597 points) has a new match point to win the sixth title in its history.
To achieve this, it must be ahead of Mercedes (289 pts) by at least one point at the finish and must not be ahead of Ferrari (265) by more than 23 points.
Behind the Verstappen rocket, the McLarens seem to have something to play for in the 16th round of the season: Oscar Piastri (McLaren), author of his best performance in qualifying for his first season in F1, will start 2nd.
The Australian, still relegated to more than half a second behind Verstappen at the end of qualifying, took to the track at the wheel of an improved McLaren this weekend, improvements from which his teammate Lando Norris had benefited. from Singapore, where he finished 2nd.
When the lights go out on Sunday (1 a.m. Eastern time) Norris will start 3rd, ahead of the Ferrari of Monegasque Charles Leclerc, 4th.
Sergio Pérez (Red Bull), runner-up to Verstappen in the championship, will start from the third row, ahead of Spaniard Carlos Sainz, winner in Singapore from the leading position but only 6th on Saturday.
Event local Yuki Tsunoda equals his second best performance of the season in qualifying at home and will start 9th, buoyed by the cheers from the stands filled with some 80,000 spectators
The AlphaTauri driver will start behind the two Merdedes of Lewis Hamilton, 7th and George Russell 8th – but in front of the Aston Martin of double world champion Fernando Alonso, 10th. Quebecer Lance Stroll had to settle for 17th place.
The French Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon will start from 12th and 14th places respectively at the wheel of their Alpine.
Earlier in the day, the first part of qualifying (Q1) was interrupted around ten minutes after Logan Sargeant went off the track.
The American, who emerged from his Williams unscathed, hit a wall at the exit of the last turn, heavily damaging his car.
This accident is a hard blow for Sargeant, the only starting driver not yet to have a guaranteed contract for 2024.
