The Japanese GP Qualifying has come to an end. [Credits: X/ Formula 1]

Japanese Grand Prix 2025 Qualifying Results- Max Verstappen Dominates the McLarens to Grab Pole at Suzuka!

Read ahead to know more about the Japanese Grand Prix Qualifying Results

The Japanese GP Qualifying has come to an end. [Credits: X/ Formula 1]

Japanese Grand Prix 2025 Qualifying Results are out. Formula 1 is back to racing from April 4-6 in Japan. The Qualifying session was scheduled at 3:00 PM track time today. The buildup to the Japanese GP was nothing short of controversial. Last minute disqualifications, mid-season driver changes, it had everything. The Qualifying session for the Japanese GP started producing pretty obvious results as soon as it started. The backmarker cars couldn’t improve themselves again. The top-10 for the qualifying session remained nearly the same.

Max Verstappen on the other hand produced a stunning performance to deliver a lap time quicker than both McLarens. He claimed the pole position for the Japanese GP with a difference of 0.012s. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri could not do more but stay in second and third positions respectively. However, there’s more to qualifying than what meets the eye. Let’s have a look at the Japanese Grand Prix 2025 Qualifying Results–

Japanese Grand Prix 2025 Qualifying Results

The top-10 drivers from the Japanese GP Qualifying are as follows-

Max Verstappen
Lando Norris
Oscar Piastri
Charles Leclerc
George Russell
Kimi Antonelli
Isack Hajdar
Lewis Hamilton
Alex Albon
Oliver Bearman

Max Verstappen posted a time of 1:26.983 at Suzuka to grab himself the pole position for the race. He won the race last year and is looking forward to another victory. However, truth be told, Red Bull simply does not have the pace to put up a fight. The entire paddock and Red Bull themselves were shocked with this pole position. It took an absolutely perfect lap from Max Verstappen to stay ahead of Norris.

WHAT A SESSION!

Max Verstappen. Take. A. Bow.#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/w72EgQ5ICD
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 5, 2025

The McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri was quick as ever. They were the frontrunners throughout the qualifying session. Lando Norris was smiling and congratulated Verstappen on his near perfect lap. Sunday will bring forth a chance of rain at Suzuka. It might make things difficult for the incredibly fast McLarens. Verstappen is known to be a beast in the rain and he won’t spare Norris or Piastri if they commit a single mistake during the rain. Charles Leclerc is the sole Ferrari in the top-5. He was also among the competitors for pole position earlier on. However, his Ferrari could not bring himself to the front row of the grid in the presence of Verstappen and McLarens.

The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have secured the third row at Suzuka. Both Russell and Antonelli displayed a competitive pace throughout the session. George Russell also tried to grab pole position but to no avail. He could not improve his timing enough to get ahead of the McLarens or the Ferrari of Leclerc.

The updated grid following Carlos Sainz's penalty 👇#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/qqnLxN0Eav
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 5, 2025

Isack Hajdar was surprisingly fast in the qualifying session. He complained of several issues with the car during the practice sessions. Hajdar faced them again before the qualifying session started. But, to everyone’s surprise, Hajdar placed seventh in Q3 ahead of his much-experienced teammate, Liam Lawson. Lewis Hamilton could only bring himself to secure eighth position ahead of Alex Albon and Bearman. Alex Albon was phenomenal with his Williams. He has consistently put his car in the top-10 for three races now. Oliver Bearman also improved his lap times and ended up placing his Haas in Q3 for the first time in 2025.

No Relief for Backmarkers

The final 10 drivers for the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix remained nearly same as the previous races. Once again Alpine could not get into Q3 as Gasly and Doohan finished 11th and 19th respectively. Carlos Sainz secured 12th but it was no better than his previous outings with Williams. The Spaniard also faced a three-place grid penalty dropping to 15th on the grid. Fernando Alonso remains out of form with his Aston Martin unable to reach Q3 again. Liam Lawson and Tsunoda finished Q2 in 13th and 14th place respectively. Ironically, Tsunoda was a fan favorite for getting a podium at the Japanese GP.

The Kick Saubers are 16th and 17th respectively. Esteban Ocon got beat by him teammate and will start the race in 18th position. Lance Stroll is going to start the race from dead last.

Formula 1

Formula 1 2025 Season

Japanese Grand Prix

Max Verstappen

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.