Ferrari qualifying report: Charles Leclerc P4, Carlos Sainz P6 at Suzuka | 2023 Japanese GP. Ferrari qualifying report from Suzuka.

Here is our full text transcript from the qualifying session for the 2023 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka:

Welcome and a big well done if you’re joined us right at the get-go here for the start of our build-up to Japanese GP qualifying (and a further impressive nod towards those you have been here since 3.30am!).

There’s no escaping the fact that this Suzuka weekend has had a rather more ‘business as usual’ feel to proceedings in terms of the pecking order than Singapore last week, when Red Bull were not involved in the battle for a podium finish.

Max Verstappen has duly been back on top of the timesheet all through practice, but the encouraging news is that his advantage hasn’t been absolutely massive – with the McLaren pair within 0.3s of the Dutchman in flying practice a little earlier. But Sergio Perez has been a long way adrift in the second RB19 so far and, on the evidence of this morning, there wasn’t much to choose between Ferrari and Mercedes.

Bernie Collins on Ferrari pace and quali tyre intrigue: “Carlos Sainz has got to be confident going into this weekend after his win in Singapore. Both the drivers are. They look strong out there as well. They ran very late in P3, which means they are confident in their performance out there. The other thing I think that’s going to bring something into play in this qualifying is Max has saved an extra tyre set for the race. He has one set less of softs than the Ferraris, they have four. So how is that going to play as we go through this qualifying session. They are going to feel a little more confident than him with that.”

The wind is picking up at Suzuka, and the gusty nature of it is going to be keeping the drivers on their toes as an added challenge around this fantastic track.

Q1 begins! The Aston Martin of Lance Stroll trundles out onto the track as Q1 begins. Suzuka is one of the best circuits in the world to drive a high-downforce racing car, so the drivers are going to enjoy this Qualifying – especially if they are at the sharp end of the grid. Liam Lawson joins Lance Stroll on track and is on his first hot lap of the session. This is one circuit the rookie does know thanks to his season in Japan’s Super Formula this year. Stroll’s opening effort was a 1:32. Straight out of the blocks for Liam Lawson and it’s his fastest lap of the weekend with a 1:31.729. Lance Stroll is second and everyone else is on an out lap or sitting in the garage.

11 mins to go in Q1: Max Verstappen goes under the 90-second mark with a 1:29.878 on his first flying lap. That will be enough to get into Q2. Sergio Perez slots into second and George Russell is third. Lando Norris’ opening effort places him second – within two tenths of Verstappen.

RED FLAG: Logan Sargeant has crashed hard at the final corner bringing Q1 to a halt with nine minutes to go. The Ferrari drivers are yet to set a flying lap as they were among several drivers caught out by the red flag. Valtteri Bottas, Nico Hulkenberg, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly are yet to post a time as well.

Max Verstappen probably won’t even have to get back out there, so can save tyres, after his mighty lap. Lando Norris is only 0.185s behind though, with Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez making up the top four. Then we have George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who may not be completely safe with their laps.

Q1 is back under way. The Ferrari drivers and Liam Lawson sat at the end of the pit lane for two minutes in order to get track position. Charles Leclerc goes third fastest, losing three tenths in the first sector to Verstappen then one tenth each in the next two sectors. Carlos Sainz is another two tenths behind at the end of the lap in fifth. Liam Lawson puts in a stellar lap to go seventh, despite using the same tyres he had before the red flag. The pit lane is suddenly very, very busy – even Max Verstappen is coming out on track again. So far, everyone from sixth backwards – plus fourth-placed Piastri – are on track for the closing 2 minutes.

Chequered flag in Q1: Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc and Sainz stay in the garage for the final runs. Pierre Gasly goes seventh with team-mate Esteban Ocon in eighth and the Haas of Kevin Magnussen in 10th. Yuki Tsunoda goes seventh on home soil which bumps Lance Stroll out of Qualifying. Zhou Guanyu has a lap deleted and is also out. Right at the end, Alex Albon pops up into 12th which pushes Valtteri Bottas out too. Not a good day for Alfa Romeo. It could have been even worse for Aston Martin as Fernando Alonso only just made it through to Q2 by about a tenth of a second. It was so close out there in the end – even the Mercedes’, who set identical 1:30.811 times – in 9th and 10th were only 0.2s inside the eventual cut line.

Green light at the end of the pit lane marks the start of Q2. Max Verstappen is first onto the track, taking no risks in case of a red or yellow flag. It’s been 35 minutes since Verstappen’s lap in the first part of qualifying but it doesn’t stop him from doing a 1:29.964, which is one tenth slower than his Q1 time. Charles Leclerc goes second and is half a second behind Verstappen, with Carlos Sainz another five tenths off the pace in third.

8 mins to go in Q2: George Russell and Lewis Hamilton go fifth and sixth respectively, but are over a second behind the Red Bulls, who are now one-two as Sergio Pere goes second. New tyres for the McLaren pair compared to Max’s old ones, but Lando Norris can’t quite find enough to dislodge Max. He clonked the kerbs at the final chicane which certainly didn’t help. And Oscar Piastri moves into second ahead of Norris, just 0.158s adrift. It’s advantage Max – but second and third still very good for McLaren here.

Fernando Alonso’s record of reaching Q3 in every qualifying session this year is at threat as he stands 11th with five minutes to go. Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen are the other drivers in the drop zone. It’s a solid lap from Alex Albon to go seventh. That will be “on the cusp” says Sky F1’s David Croft as to whether it’s enough to get into Q3. Behind Albon, it’s Sainz, Russell and Hamilton to complete the all-important top 10.

Chequered flag: Lewis Hamilton goes third and Fernando Alonso is ninth as Q2 comes to a climax. George Russell is also safe in seventh place as the Ferraris go first with Charles Leclerc and fifth with Carlos Sainz. Ferrari ended up fastest in Q2 after taking a second set of tyres unlike Verstappen and the McLarens.

Q3 is go! Importantly, only Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Leclerc and Sainz have two new sets of soft tyres. It’s a 1:29.012 from Max Verstappen. Oscar Piastri goes 0.446s behind in second place, with Lando Norris a fraction adrift in third. Then it’s Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton rounding out the top five.

4 mins to go in Q3: Some slightly different run plans in Q3 here. George Russell is only on his first hot lap now in the second Mercedes. Having used more softs to get to Q3, the Ferrari cars are waiting for one run at the end of this session. George Russell goes into fourth on his one and only run on new soft tyres. It’s 1.207s behind Verstappen’s provisional pole time. Fernando Alonso does the same thing and is sixth for now.

2 mins to go in Q3: Here come the Ferrari cars. There’s currently a big gap for them to aim for on the timesheet. Eight tenths separates Norris in third and Russell in fourth.

It’s pole position for Max Verstappen at the Japanese Grand Prix as he goes even faster with a 1:28.877 on his final run. Neither Piastri nor Norris improve on their final attempts, leaving them second and third on the grid. Charles Leclerc is fourth and Sergio Perez is only fifth in the second Red Bull! Carlos Sainz to start from P6