Max Verstappen set himself up for possible title glory at the Japanese Grand Prix by qualifying on pole for Sunday's race.
Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz hope to delay the Dutchman's inevitable coronation but could not match his pace in the drier conditions at Suzuka. Nor could Lewis Hamilton, as he and fellow Mercedes driver George Russell accepted they could not compete with the rapid Red Bulls.
Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel made sure he will retire from Formula 1 with a perfect record of qualifying in the top 10 in Japan. Lando Norris also made it to Q3, along with Alpine pair Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon.
However, after the session Verstappen was investigated for a dangerous-looking incident with Norris which forced the McLaren man to avoid a crash by driving off the track. He will have to make his case to the stewards and hope he will not be slapped with a penalty for that move.
Nicholas Latifi came into this session with a five-place grid penalty from his crash with Zhou Guanyu at the Singapore Grand Prix, suggesting he would most likely start last at Suzuka. And that prediction came true as he was knocked out in Q1.
His Williams team-mate Alex Albon also suffered the same fate after having a lap time deleted for exceeding track limits. Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll were also in the bottom five, along with Pierre Gasly who did not get the result he wanted on the day his move to Alpine next season was announced.
The Frenchman suffered from brake problems throughout the session and made his frustration known with a shirty radio message after being knocked out. His AlphaTauri team-mate Yuki Tsunoda also felt a similar issue, but still managed to put in a quick enough time to make it through to Q2 – much to the delight of the home fans at Suzuka.
He could not do any better, though, as those brakes issues continued to plague his car into Q2. Mick Schumacher also overcame his hefty crash at the end of FP1 on Friday to get his Haas into Q2, while both Alfa Romeo drivers and Daniel Ricciardo also failed to make the top 10.
Vettel continued his 100% record of making it through to Q3 in Japan with an impressive lap. He joined the drivers from the 'big three' teams, as well as Alpine pair Alonso and Ocon and McLaren driver Norris.
Full 2022 Japanese Grand Prix qualifying results
- Max Verstappen – Red Bull*
- Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
- Carlos Sainz – Ferrari
- Sergio Perez – Red Bull
Esteban Ocon – Alpine
- Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
- Fernando Alonso – Alpine
- George Russell – Mercedes
- Sebastian Vettel – Aston Martin
- Lando Norris – McLaren
- Daniel Ricciardo – McLaren
- Valtteri Bottas – Alfa Romeo
- Yuki Tsunoda – AlphaTauri
- Zhou Guanyu – Alfa Romeo
- Mick Schumacher – Haas
- Alex Albon – Williams
- Pierre Gasly – AlphaTauri
- Kevin Magnussen – Haas
- Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
- Nicholas Latifi – Williams
*Pending stewards' investigation into incident with Lando Norris
