Overview
- Kimi Antonelli led a Mercedes 1-2 in Saturday qualifying at Suzuka, taking a second straight pole ahead of George Russell.
- Oscar Piastri qualified third for McLaren, with Charles Leclerc fourth after a late error, while Lando Norris took fifth and Lewis Hamilton sixth.
- Max Verstappen was knocked out in Q2 and starts 11th after calling his Red Bull “completely undriveable,” with rookie Arvid Lindblad securing the lap that bumped him as Isack Hadjar took eighth.
- The FIA cut the qualifying energy recharge cap to 8.0 MJ for Japan to curb “superclipping,” a tactic where drivers lift early to refill the battery that had been dulling flat-out laps.
- Aston Martin ended qualifying at the bottom again and remains hampered by severe vibration issues that have kept its cars from finishing a race this season.