April 5, 2025

Oliver Bearman admitted he did not expect to get out of the first qualifying session for the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix before putting his Haas 10th on the grid.Having benefitted from a trio of disqualifications to finish eighth last time out in China, Bearman continued to impress after progressing to Q3 at Suzuka.In contrast, team-mate Esteban Ocon failed to get out of Q1 and will …Keep reading

Despite returning to the slower Racing Bulls car, Liam Lawson outqualified his Red Bull replacement Yuki Tsunoda for Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix. But there are signs Red Bull’s merciless switch may actually be working already.Leaving aside the ruthlessness of Red Bull’s decision to demote Lawson after two difficult races on circuits he didn’t know, what ultimately mattered to the team is …Keep reading

Pain from his seatbelts almost put Racing Bulls Formula 1 driver Isack Hadjar out in Q1 for the Japanese Grand Prix, before completing an “unbelievable” lap having overcome the discomfort.Hadjar was heard over the radio complaining about an unspecified cockpit issue in FP3, and had reported in the first part of qualifying that the problem had reoccurred as he attempted to break into Q2.It …Keep reading

Lando Norris insists he is much happier with his McLaren Formula 1 car than he was in China – despite being beaten to Japanese Grand Prix pole by Max Verstappen.The current championship leader bemoaned small margins for missing out on pole by 0.012 seconds at Suzuka as Verstappen surprisingly took the top spot ahead of both Norris and his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.Throughout the …Keep reading

Williams driver Carlos Sainz has received a three-place grid penalty for Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix for impeding Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in qualifying.Arriving at high speed into Turn 1 for his final flying lap in Q2, Hamilton encountered Sainz in the middle of the road, having to abort his lap and take avoiding action into the runoff area.Sainz said he had no warning that Hamilton …Keep reading

Lengthy rain showers have been forecast for Suzuka overnight on Saturday and into Sunday, with the expected downpours set to halt the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix grass fires.Five separate incidents of scorched turf have delayed track action across the weekend so far, with two red flags in FP2, two in FP3 and another during Q2 as the FIA and race organisers grappled with finding a …Keep reading

Max Verstappen has said Red Bull has not fixed its troublesome Formula 1 car despite taking a stunning Japanese Grand Prix pole that he called one of his finest career laps.The four-time world champion was bidding for his fourth consecutive pole at Suzuka, but balance issues with his 2025 Red Bull car combined with McLaren’s dominant form looked set to end that streak.But after not making …Keep reading

After every F1 qualifying session, Motorsport.com publishes each team’s qualifying record in terms of team-mate battles.This record is based exclusively on qualifying results so that grid penalties don’t alter the statistics.When a driver can’t put in a representative lap time due to a technical issue or an incident, this will be mentioned in the table.McLarenOscar …Keep reading