Lewis Hamilton achieved a new track record on his way to securing a first Japanese Grand Prix pole position at Suzuka as the Mercedes driver was almost untouchable on Saturday.
His best of 1:27.319s saw him take top spot by a third of second from teammate Valtteri Bottas in second and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in third position. Unfortunately for the Finn, a gearbox change earlier this weekend meant he will face a five-place grid drop losing his front row start to Hamilton’s main title rival.
Both Red Bulls were off-pace by a full second, however, the in-team battle was clinched by Daniel Ricciardo after a major battle with Max Verstappen as the two secured what became the second row following Bottas’ grid penalty.
Kimi Raikkonen suffered once again after an accident in Practice 3 meant the 2007 world champion was forced to change his gearbox and will drop an additional five places.
The Finn was far from his top form, however, as he was only able to set the sixth best timing and will drop outside the top 10 to 11th as a result.
Esteban Ocon was able to beat his teammate, Sergio Perez, as Force India locked fourth row finishing seventh and eighth respectively; however, Perez is still under investigation for blocking Lance Stroll in Q1. Felipe Massa was able to finish ninth beating Fernando Alonso who completed the top 10.
Stoffel Vandoorne continued his good run as he was just knocked from Q2 finishing eleventh and will benefit from the grid drops while getting a fresh set of tyres to start with on Sunday.
A surprising double knockout from Q2 for Renault as Nico Hulkenberg was their best qualifier for them finishing twelfth as his teammate Jolyon Palmer was only able to grab fourteenth. The French cars were split by Haas’ Kevin Magnussen grabbing thirteenth as Carlos Sainz completed the list of drivers out of Q2 finishing fifteenth after struggling for grip.
Q1 ended one minute earlier being interrupted by red flags after Romain Grosjean spun out finishing in a huge clash with the barriers. The Frenchman was unharmed and his time secured sixteenth but he might be looking for some grid drop in case a gearbox change, or any other PU parts, changes will be needed.
Pierre Gasly late run in the session was interrupted by the red flags meaning he would have to settle for seventeenth similar to Lance Stroll who will be starting eighteenth. Stroll complained of being held by Perez before the red flags ended his session early.
Once again, the Sauber duo were once again down the field with Marcus Ericsson beating Pascal Wehrlein as the drivers finished nineteenth and twentieth respectively.
With the championship leaders starting side by side and with Vettel looking to change his late fortunes as Hamilton looks to extend his lead, in addition to a lot of mid-pack battles, the race promises to be up to the expectations.
