Thanks for joining us, we're off, but stay with us for more F1 news. The next lap will be better than this one. Tomorrow's race will have Max Verstappen starting first, behind the McLarens.
George Russell made a mistake, which forced him to gain more seconds to avoid overtaking the leaders. Norris went into sector 2 to close the lap, but Oscar dropped by a second, which was 1:26.995, and he was the one who took pole.
We are going into the final minutes to define the grid, nobody will change tires, Kimi is tenth, Albon ninth, Oliver Bearman with eighth in his Haas, being the surprise, Hadjar in 7th, Hamilton in 6th, Norris in 5th, Russell in 4th, Leclerc in 3rd, Max in 2nd and Oscar in 1st place.
Lando Norris moves up to fourth place. The championship's best driver struggled on the closing laps. Leclerc moves up to third with the Ferrari, improving on his Monaco performance. Max Verstappen remains in second place, with Oscar Piastri setting the fastest time.
The final 15 minutes of Q3 begin, with the first drivers taking to the track to stay ahead of the qualifying round. Here, we'll find out the top 10 for tomorrow's race.
Yuki Tsunoda eliminated in 15th place, Lawson better with 14th, but also out, Alonso out, Carlos Sainz another out, is being investigated by the commissioners, Gasly is the last to be eliminated. The local crowd is disappointed with their star's performance.
Final minutes of Q2, the leaderboard is shifting. Bearman moves up to 8th, Yuki Tsunoda is about to be eliminated, Sainz is on the brink of elimination, and Alex Albon is still playing for his life in these seconds. The top three remain up there with Norris, Russell, and Verstappen.
The end of Q2 is underway, with the firing now over, the Ferraris take to the track, Lando Norris holding on to first place, Charles Leclerc and Hamilton maintaining a good pace, leaving mistakes aside a bit.
Red flag for a fire. The clock is stopped, and the lap is restarted in 8 minutes. The fire is on the grass once again. Marshals are out to put out the fire. The cars will go to the boxes in this moment.
George Russell takes second place, overtaking Verstappen. Kimi Raikkonen moves into the top seven. Carlos Sainz closes the first lap in 11th, but his teammate Alex Albon overtakes him and improves his time to 5th. Liam Lawson is in last place.
The Red Bulls are improving their times, with Yuki and Max on par going for the best possible time, but the Ferraris with Leclerc and Hamilton are still pushing hard, but the Dutchman is currently in second place, hoping Lando Norris can take first.
The next 15 minutes of Q2 begin, with the first drivers hitting the track to stay ahead of the curve in Q3. Frenchman Hadjar's Racing Bull has already had its seatbelt repaired, ensuring he won't have any issues in Q2.
Those eliminated from Q1 are Stroll, Doohan, Ocon, Hulkenberg, and Bortoleto. Lawson is saved on the timeline, improving at the last second. Alonso still celebrates in his Aston Martin. Hadjar, after his seatbelt problems, qualified 13th.
Oscar Piastri beats his teammate Lando, with a time of 1:27.687, Norris close to taking the lead, the Mercedes improve, George takes second place, Kimi moves up to 8th, Alosno also improves his time with 12th place, Sainz improves his pace in the corners, so that he is in 10th.
Lando Norris takes the fastest time so far to advance to Q2 with a 1:27.845. Charles Leclerc is second, and Oscar Piastri secures the top three. The two Mercedes cars take to the track to improve their times, with rookie Kimi waiting to get out of the danger zone.
Hadjar, who is experiencing discomfort with his belt, has already entered the pits so they can fix it. Currently, Antonelli, Hadjar, Stroll, Alonso, and Lawson are in danger of being eliminated.
Oscar Piastri takes the fastest time with 1:28.143, George Russell remains in second place, Yuki holds onto sixth place, and Verstappen leads the home driver in fourth. Norris remains in third place with the McLaren.
Yuki Tsunoda takes to the track, while Doohan also returns with minimal cornering issues, but the Alpine looks better after yesterday's crash. Lando Norris also takes to the track for his first lap.
The first cars take to the track. We begin the opening minutes of qualifying, seeking to take the top spots and achieve the best time. They will then reach the end of qualifying to secure the best spot on the grid and secure the right position tomorrow.
We're just moments away from bringing you LIVE on VAVEL the Japanese GP Qualifying race at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan, but we'll take a brief break and continue in a few minutes with more information.
The Spaniard struggled in free practice with the Williams, the car wasn't feeling very well, bouncing around a lot. The Madrid native commented: "Free Practice 3 tomorrow will be intense for everyone; there's a lot to test, and above all, we have to analyze several things."
We're just moments away from bringing you LIVE on VAVEL the Japanese GP Qualifying race at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan, but we'll take a brief break and continue in a few minutes with more information.
Regarding Liam's replacement for Yuki, Isaac Hadjar comments that there will be a healthy atmosphere in the team.
"I think we'll work well together. I just focus on what I'm doing. I don't need anyone special by my side to push me to drive as fast as possible. And I know it's great to work with Liam."
Jack Doohan suffered an accident in free practice 2, losing control of the car. The Alpine was a total loss when it crashed into the wall. The driver had discomfort in his hand, but no fracture. Fernando Alonso also had problems exiting the gravel pit, so he did not complete free practice 2.
In a few moments, we'll share the highlights of the Japanese GP race live, along with the latest information from the Suzuka Circuit, including key players' comments, drivers to watch, and interesting facts about the teams this season in F1. Don't miss any details of the match with VAVEL's live, minute-by-minute coverage.
Yuki Tsunoda is the man everyone wants to see on the track, now with Red Bull, as the second driver alongside Max Verstappen. This is what Yuki said at the Red Bull Show on the streets of Japan.
“But honestly, please have high expectations and put all the pressure on me. I can't guarantee I'll meet them, but I'll do my best.”
Among the drivers still in Formula 1, there are more than three drivers who have achieved a victory in Japan. Suzuka is a very important territory for the Mercedes team, which knows victory quite well, but Red Bull also knows what it means to win there. McLaren has not had a victory in recent years; the most recent was in 2011, and no team other than Mercedes or Red Bull has been on the podium there. Max Verstappen has been winning consecutively from 2022 to 2024. Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, and Valtteri Bottas have had the last victories for Mercedes. From 2014 to 2019, Mercedes dominated. But Hamilton, now with Ferrari, has become the second driver with five victories. Sebastian Vettel is the third-highest winner with four wins, followed by Verstappen with three. A Ferrari hasn't won since 2004. Fernando Alonso has two wins with Renault, but he has yet to win with Aston Martin.
German driver Michael Schumacher. He is the most successful driver at the Japanese Grand Prix, having achieved podium finishes with Ferrari and Benetton more than six times. His first victory came in 1995; it took two years for him to return to the podium with Ferrari in 1997. From 2000 to 2002, he won three times in a row. His last victory in Japan was in 2004.
In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren is in first place with 78 points, Mercedes is in second place with 57 points, Red Bull is in 36 points, Williams is in fourth place with 17 points, Ferrari is in fourth place with 17 points, Haas is in sixth place with 14 points, Aston Martin is in sixth place with 10 points, Sauber is in eighth place with 6 points, and Raging Bulls is in ninth place with 3 points. Alpine rounds out the top 10 with 0 points.
Three races in, we have Lando Norris in first place with 44 points, Max Verstappen with 36 points, George Russell in third place with 35 points, Oscar Piastri with 34 points, Kimi Antonelli in fifth place with 22 points, Ocon in seventh with 10 points, Stroll in eighth with 10 points, Lewis Hamilton in ninth with 9 points, and Charles Leclerc in the top 10 with 8 points. Hulkenberg is 11th with 6 points, Oliver Bearman in 12th with 4 points, Yuki Tsunodada in 13th with 3 points, and Carlos Sainz in the top 14.
Schedules for Everyone to Watch the Japanese GP on F1
These are the schedules for Mexico and the rest of Latin America for this weekend's F1 Japanese GP race.
Qualifying for Mexico will be at 12:00 am. No changes unless last-minute. The race is at 11:00 pm.
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama: 1:00 am | F1 TV, Disney+
Bolivia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico: 2:00 am | F1 TV | Disney+
Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay: 3:00 am | Disney+, F1 TV, Fox Sports, Band Sports.
The Australian GP was the first race won by Lando Norris, and China saw Oscar Piastri's first win, a McLaren double. Today in Japan will be a race with high expectations, with Yuki Tsunoda making his Red Bull debut after Liam Lawson returned to Visa Cash App Racing Bulls. This round is very special because the atmosphere is on another level.
This week's Japanese GP will start at the Suzuka Circuit. Located in Suzuka, Japan, the circuit is 5.807 kilometers long, with a distance of 307.471 kilometers, 53 laps, and one DRS zone. The record lap is held by Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes in 2019 with a time of 1:30.983. The circuit has been running for over 62 years and has a capacity of 155,000 spectators.
Welcome all motorsports fans to the broadcast of the Japanese GP qualifying. Live from the Suzuka Circuit in Japan, with great excitement for this great race. Get your popcorn ready because we'll see plenty of surprises today.
