For the first time ever, Formula 1 Qualifying took place in peak Cherry Blossom season as all 20 drivers look to have a strong Saturday around the famous Suzuka Circuit.
Q1
In Qualifying 1; Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen, Logan Sargeant, and Zhou Guanyu were the five slowest drivers. Lance Stroll had a terrible day if we’re being honest, being knocked out in Q1 whilst your teammate is 7 and a half tenths up the road is quite frankly unacceptable! Pierre Gasly was once again out in Q1 for Alpine whilst Kevin Magnussen had a very disappointing Qualifying session. Logan Sargeant will also be disappointed to be P19, especially given he wasn’t a million miles away from his Williams teammate whilst Zhou Guanyu ended up slowest (by only 4 thousandths). Max Verstappen topped Q1 for Red Bull ahead of the remaining Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.
Q2
In Qualifying 2; Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Alex Albon, and Esteban Ocon all failed to make it into the Top 10 shootout. Daniel Ricciardo managed to pull out his best performance of the season so far, but it still wasn’t quite enough for Danny Ric to outqualify his Visa Cash App RB teammate. Nico Hulkenberg can be pleased with P12 for Haas, as can Valtteri Bottas who had a decent day for Kick Sauber. Alex Albon couldn’t achieve more than P14 in his Williams (car) whilst Esteban Ocon ended Q2 as the slowest driver (by just over a tenth). Max Verstappen once again topped Q2, but this time by only 12 thousandths of a second ahead of his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.
Q3
In Qualifying 3, a 1:28.197 was enough for Max Verstappen to take his 4th Pole Position of the season. This was another strong performance by Max, but the Triple World Champion didn’t have it all his own way as Sergio Perez completed a Red Bull 1-2, just 66 thousandths (of a second) behind his teammate. This is much better from Checo! Lando Norris also did a superb job to comfortably get P3 for McLaren whilst Carlos Sainz will start 4th for Ferrari. Fernando Alonso had a very good day to get his Aston Martin into P5, ahead of the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri whilst Lewis Hamilton just missed out on a 3rd-Row start. Charles Leclerc will be very disappointed with P8, as will George Russell in P9 as the Brit was nowhere really, whilst Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the Top 10 after another positive Qualifying session.
Starting Grid for the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix and My Qualifying Grades
Max Verstappen: 10
Sergio Perez: 9
Lando Norris: 10
Carlos Sainz: 8
Fernando Alonso: 9
Oscar Piastri: 6
Lewis Hamilton: 6
Charles Leclerc: 4
George Russell: 4
Yuki Tsunoda: 8
Daniel Ricciardo: 7
Nico Hulkenberg: 7
Valtteri Bottas: 6
Alex Albon: 5
Esteban Ocon: 4
Lance Stroll: 1
Pierre Gasly: 2
Kevin Magnussen: 1
Logan Sargeant: 1
Zhou Guanyu: 1
My Predictions for the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix
Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez
Lando Norris
Carlos Sainz
Oscar Piastri
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