After driving to pole position, Max Verstappen had to sit in detention, along with his buddy Lando Norris. For an hour after qualifying in Suzuka, the two sat with the race stewards; there was a tricky situation to discuss on the race track. A little later, however, it was clear: Verstappen got away with a warning, kept the first place on the grid – and now had the best chance of an early World Cup triumph.
At the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday (7 a.m. CET / Sky) he can do it on his own for the first time this year: If Verstappen wins and also gets the bonus point for the fastest lap of the race, the result of the pursuers doesn’t matter. They were pretty close on Saturday. Only ten thousandths separated the world champion in the Red Bull from Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, and his teammate Carlos Sainz in third place was also within reach. Only Leclerc and Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez, who starts fourth on Sunday, can theoretically catch the Dutchman five races before the end.
“It will be interesting,” said Verstappen, “the weather also plays a role. Some say there will be rain, some assume the sun will come. Either way, we have a good car, I’m happy.” Unlike the weather, however, the race controllers no longer interfered on Saturday. On a warm-up lap in the third qualifying part, Lando Norris in the McLaren approached Verstappen at high speed. The world champion suddenly accelerated, his Red Bull was suddenly across the board. Norris could only avoid a collision by swerving onto the grass verge. “There must clearly be a penalty,” said Norris later – but the race stewards saw no intention.
Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin made it into the last qualifying segment by a hair’s breadth by a hair’s breadth, starting ninth in his last Suzuka Grand Prix. Mick Schumacher only got 15th place on the grid in his Suzuka debut. The chassis of his Haas then had to be changed, he missed the second session – since he is still driving for a new contract with Haas, it was not at the right time.
On the track, which was still unfamiliar to him, he still made it into the second section in qualifying, while his teammate Kevin Magnussen (18th) did not. Schumacher is still hoping for points in Suzuka, “I know that my car is damn fast here in the rain. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”