What happened in F1 qualifying in Japan? Summary and results

Max Verstappen will start ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz after this Saturday’s qualifying session in Japan, which was made up of three rounds in which five cars were eliminated in Q1 and five in Q2 before the batch of the first 10, the Q3.

Max Verstappen was investigated by the stewards for a near miss on his out lap of Q3 in Lando Norris’s McLaren . However, they only imposed a reprimand on him .

F1 Japan GP 2022 Qualifying Results

Cla	Pilot		Chassis	Weather	Difference
1	Max Verstappen		Red Bull	1’29.304
2	Charles Leclerc		Ferrari	1’29.314	0.010
3	Carlos Sainz Jr.		ferrari	1’29,361	0.057
4	Sergio Pérez		Red Bull	1’29.709	0.405
5	Esteban Ocon		Alpine	1’30.165	0.861
6	Lewis Hamilton		Mercedes	1’30.261	0.957
7	Fernando Alonso		Alpine	1’30.322	1.018
8	George Russell		Mercedes	1’30.389	1.085
9	Sebastian Vettel		Aston Martin	1’30.554	1.250
10	Lando Norris		McLaren	1’31.003	1.699
11	Daniel Ricciardo		McLaren	1’30.659	1.355
12	Valtteri Bottas		Alfa Romeo	1’30.709	1.405
13	Yuki Tsunoda		Alpha Tauri	1’30.808	1.504
14	Guanyu Zhou		Alfa Romeo	1’30.953	1.649
15	Mick Schumacher		Haas	1’31.439	2.135
16	Alexander Albon		williams	1’31.311	2.007
17	Pierre Gasly		AlphaTauri	1’31.322	2,018
18	Kevin Magnussen		Haas	1’31,352	2,048
19	Lance Stroll		Aston Martin	1’31.419	2.115
20	Nicholas Latifi		Williams	1’31.511	2.207
see results

What happened in Q1 of the Japanese Grand Prix?

Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez set the first bar in 1m30.622s, which was soon surpassed by Max Verstappen’s 1m30.224s. Sainz fell 0.112s short of second, with Leclerc third, 0.178s off the fastest time.

Alex Albon (Williams), Pierre Gasly ( AlphaTauri ), Kevin Magnussen ( Haas ), Lance Stroll ( Aston Martin ) and Nicholas Latifi ( Williams ) were eliminated in Q1, at the first change.

2022 Japanese GP F1 Qualifying Q1 Results: Verstappen in the lead

Cla	Pilot	Chassis	Weather	Difference	Interval
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1’30.224
two	Carlos Sainz Jr.	ferrari	1’30,336	0.112	0.112
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1’30.402	0.178	0.066
4	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	1’30.603	0.379	0.201
5	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	1’30,622	0.398	0.019
6	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1’30.696	0.472	0.074
7	George Russell	Mercedes	1’30.865	0.641	0.169
8	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	1’30,880	0.656	0.015
9	Lando Norris	McLaren	1’30.881	0.657	0.001
10	Guanyu Zhou	Alfa Romeo	1’30.894	0.670	0.013
11	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1’30.906	0.682	0.012
12	Yuki Tsunoda	Alpha Tauri	1’31.130	0.906	0.224
13	Mick Schumacher	Haas	1’31.152	0.928	0.022
14	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	1’31.226	1.002	0.074
15	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	1’31.256	1.032	0.030
16	Alexander Albon	williams	1’31.311	1.087	0.055
17	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	1’31.322	1,098	0.011
18	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1’31,352	1,128	0.030
19	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1’31.419	1.195	0.067
20	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	1’31.511	1.287	0.092
see results

What happened in Q2 of the Japanese Grand Prix?

Sainz set the pace in the opening minutes with a 1m30.444s on used tyres, 0.042s quicker than Leclerc. Verstappen then narrowly edged them both, with a 1m30.346s.

Pérez came out again with new tires at the end (unlike the first three) and took advantage of it to be the fastest with a 1:29.925, four tenths ahead of Alonso ‘s Alpine.

At this point Daniel Ricciardo ( McLaren ), Valtteri Bottas ( Alfa Romeo ), Yuki Tsunoda ( AlphaTauri ), Guanyu Zhou ( Alfa Romeo ) and Mick Schumacher ( Haas ) were eliminated.

2022 Japanese GP F1 Qualifying Q2 Results: Perez Leads, Alonso 2nd

Cla	Pilot	Chassis	Weather	Difference	Interval
1	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	1’29,925
2	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	1’30.343	0.418	0.418
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1’30.346	0.421	0.003
4	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1’30.357	0.432	0.011
5	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1’30.443	0.518	0.086
6	Carlos Sainz Jr.	ferrari	1’30,444	0.519	0.001
7	George Russell	Mercedes	1’30.465	0.540	0.021
8	Lando Norris	McLaren	1’30.473	0.548	0.008
9	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1’30.486	0.561	0.013
10	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	1’30.656	0.731	0.170
eleven	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	1’30,659	0.734	0.003
12	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	1’30.709	0.784	0.050
13	Yuki Tsunoda	Alpha Tauri	1’30.808	0.883	0.099
14	Guanyu Zhou	Alfa Romeo	1’30.953	1.028	0.145
15	Mick Schumacher	Haas	1’31.439	1.514	0.486
see results

What happened in Q3 of the Japanese Grand Prix?

In the opening laps, Leclerc stopped the clock in a 1m29.557s that put him first, but Verstappen beat him with a 1m29.304s, although he had a run-in with Norris on his exit lap around Turn 130R. The stewards investigated the near miss after the session, but there was no penalty, just a reprimand.

Sainz was third fastest, four tenths behind the Dutchman, with Pérez in fourth place.

In the final attempts, Charles Leclerc dropped to 1:29.314, but, he stayed 10 thousandths (0.010s) from pole by not improving in sector 3. Carlos Sainz also improved but was 0.057s behind Verstappen, who did not overcome his own record on his final lap and damaged his car on the curbs coming out of Turn 2.

Pérez will start fourth, ahead of Esteban Ocon’s Alpine, Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes and Fernando Alonso, George Russell, Sebastian Vettel and Lando Norris.

2022 Japanese GP F1 Qualifying Q3 Results: Verstappen Takes Pole

Cla	Pilot	Chassis	Weather	Difference	Interval
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1’29.304
2	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1’29.314	0.010	0.010
3	Carlos Sainz Jr.	ferrari	1’29,361	0.057	0.047
4	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	1’29,709	0.405	0.348
5	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1’30.165	0.861	0.456
6	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1’30.261	0.957	0.096
7	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	1’30.322	1.018	0.061
8	George Russell	Mercedes	1’30.389	1.085	0.067
9	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	1’30.554	1.250	0.165
10	Lando Norris	McLaren	1’31.003	1.699	0.449
see results