The Formula One season arrives in Suzuka for today’s Japanese Grand Prix as Max Verstappen looks to clinch his second consecutive F1 world championship.
The Red Bull superstar could not take the chance to wrap up his procession during a frustrating weekend in Singapore, where a fuel blunder ruined his qualifying session and he eventually finished the race in seventh after almost crashing into McLaren’s Lando Norris.
But Verstappen will be eager to bounce back from the briefest of disappointments in Japan, where he can seal another title in a number of ways... the most notable and straightforward of which would be to win the race while also setting the fastest lap.
Verstappen leads closest rival Charles Leclerc by 104 points in the standings after 11 victories from 17 races and needs that to become 112 by the end of the weekend to secure more glory, with only the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi then left on the schedule in 2022.
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It was Mercedes who impressed during wet practice sessions on Friday, with George Russell leading team-mate Lewis Hamilton in a surprise Silver Arrows one-two and Verstappen third.
More rain is forecasted for Sunday’s race, which could make things seriously unpredictable, though Verstappen is in the driving seat after taking pole ahead of Leclerc and avoiding any punishment for almost causing another crash with Norris.
When is the Japanese Grand Prix?
The Japanese Grand Prix takes place this weekend, on Sunday October 9, 2022.
What time is the Japanese Grand Prix?
The first two practice sessions took place on Friday, with Russell and Hamilton leading the way for Mercedes, ahead of Verstappen. FP3 took place from 4am BST on Saturday morning, with qualifying later at 7am as Verstappen took pole.
The race itself is slated to start at 6am on Sunday, so an early wake-up call for UK viewers.
How can I watch the Japanese Grand Prix?
TV channel: In the UK, the race will be shown LIVE on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event. Coverage of Grand Prix Sunday starts at 4:30am BST, with race coverage from 5:55am.
The race is repeated from 9:30am on both channels, with free highlights available to watch on Channel 4 at 12:30pm.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also stream the race action live online via the SkyGo app.
LIVE blog: You can also follow the race as it happens with Standard Sport’s live blog.
Who is on pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix?
Verstappen would prove to be untouchable as he took pole for Sunday's race.
His time of one minute, 30.224 seconds was just enough to see off the charge of Leclerc, who will start on the front row having gone just 0.010 seconds slower.
Japanese Grand Prix qualifying results in full
1. Max Verstappen, Netherlands, 1 minute, 29.304 seconds.
2. Charles Leclerc, Monaco, 1:29.314.
3. Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, 1:29.361.
4. Sergio Perez, Mexico, 1:29.709
5. Esteban Ocon, France, 1:30.165.
6. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, 1:30.261.
7. Fernando Alonso, Spain, 1:30.322.
8. George Russell, Great Britain, 1:30.389.
9. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, 1:30.554.
10. Lando Norris, Great Britain, 1:31.003.
Eliminated after second session
11. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, 1:30.659.
12. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, 1:30.709.
13. Yuki Tsunoda, Japan, 1:30.808.
14. Guanyu Zhou, China, 1:30.953.
15. Mick Schumacher, Germany, 1:31.439.
Eliminated after first session
16. Alexander Albon, Thailand, 1:31.311.
17. Pierre Gasly, France, 1:31.322.
18. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, 1:31.352.
19. Lance Stroll, Canada, 1:31.419.
20. Nicholas Latifi, Canada, 1:31.511.
