By: Filip Cleeren
Antonelli locks up at the chicane and has to straightline it. Hopefully he didn’t damage his fright-front tyre there.
As everyone holds station, that is fairly good news for Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time champ is the only frontrunner on hard tyres while everyone else is on mediums. He has not paid a price for that at the start and can now look at an extended stint on the more robust compound.
Tsunoda has moved past his rival Lawson for P13.
Doesn’t look like there are any positional changes in the top 10, actually. A well behaved opening lap, no incidents to note.
There has been some nice jousting between Gasly and Alonso for P11.
And we are off at Suzuka! A good start for Verstappen, he holds off Norris and Piastri into the fearsome Esses.
Most drivers are starting on mediums for what is expected to be a one-stopper, including everyone in the top six. Lewis Hamilton is the only exception there, bolting hards on to his Ferrari.
At the back of the grid, Borotleto and Ocon are also on hards, Doohan and Stroll have gone for softs on the last row.
Just a minute to go until the start of the formation lap.
Who do you think will win this race, then?
Lando Norris: ‘It’s dried out a lot, the rain came less than expected. I have a bit of a wet patch on my grid spot, so not too happy about that!”
Christian Horner is speaking to F1 TV on the grid: “The McLarens are the dominant car at the moment, so to keep them behind is a hell of a job today. Is it a two or a one stop? That’s the big question. Clean air is always valuable at a track like this. It’s not the easiest track to overtake.”
Meanwhile the Japanese fans are out in force with their trademark creative hats. Yuki Tsunoda has been enjoying a wave of support as he gears up for his first race with Red Bull. He starts 15th after making a mistake in Q2, but his pace has been encouraging. Poignantly he starts right behind the driver he replaces on the grid, Liam Lawson in the Racing Bulls.
Fans at the circuit
“There was a lot of happiness when I crossed the line,” Verstappen said after clinching his pole with a Red Bull that really should not have been beating the two McLarens.
“I’ve had some really nice poles in other places but if you look at how our season started it was a surprise and that makes it a very special one.
“On the exit of Turn 1 into 2, six, seven, eight and then Spoon it was like: “Well I hope it’s going to stick’. But it did and when I crossed the line I could see my name pop up.
But Verstappen still cautioned that it will be a difficult race for him to win either in the dry or the wet, given McLaren’s superior race pace so far.
The expected rain has indeed come overnight, but it has since been drying up again. But even if we’re starting on slicks, the grip levels will have been reset.
There are still some pockets of rain heading towards the region, the FIA’s weather service anticipates there is a 20 percent chance of more rain arriving.
Nothing that can dampen the enthusiasm of the passionate Japanese fans, mind.
Fans at the circuit
Yesterday we witnessed one of F1’s great pole laps by Max Verstappen, who will start from the front for the fourth consecutive year.
He is joined by Lando Norris on the front row, followed by Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc.
Good morning, konnichiwa. We’re gearing up for one of F1’s great races. The Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
