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One of the most striking features of the Suzuka Circuit are the cherry blossoms that can be found around the track, blooms which Haas have paid tribute to with a special livery for this weekend.
We’re just under 20 minutes away from the start of qualifying and given that Verstappen has won from pole in the last three races at Suzuka, it could prove decisive.
One of the major things to watch in qualifying is the potential for fires to break out on the course. There’s plenty of dry grass around the track and it’s ignited three times across the various practice sessions staged thus far.
The coverage has shown marshals serving as make-shift gardeners as they attempt to water any potential flashpoints and mitigate the risks of further blazes and, hopefully, that prevents any future flashpoints.
Rain is forecast overnight which should hopefully lessen the risk of any interruptions to the main event, as well.
After a heavy crash in FP2, one of the biggest questions heading into today was if the Alpine of Jack Doohan would be repaired in time to hit the track. Those concerns were quickly addressed, though, when the Australian hit the track with all his parts bar a power united replaced.
How has Max Verstappen reacted to Liam Lawson’s demotion? If his Instagram activity was anything to go by, he wasn’t impressed.
Of course, social media isn’t real life, right? Maybe it was a slip of the finger?
“Well, I liked the comment, the text, so I guess that speaks for itself; it [the like] was not a mistake.” Welp.
The Team Standings, meanwhile, reflect the speed that Norris and Piastri have shown throughout the season so far.
McLaren - 78
Mercedes - 57
Red Bull - 36
Williams - 17
Ferrari - 17
Haas - 14
Aston Martin - 10
Sauber - 6
Racing Bulls - 3
Yep, two races in and Ocon and his Haas are ahead of both Hamilton and Leclerc in their Ferraris. Not exactly what we were all expecting heading into the season, with this the worst start to a campaign for the Italian team since 2010.
With races in Australia and China already in the books, here’s everyone who has logged points in the Drivers’ Standings heading into the Japanese GP.
Lando Norris, McLaren - 44
Max Verstappen, Red Bull - 36
George Russell, Mercedes - 35
Oscar Piastri, McLaren - 34
Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes - 22
Alex Albon, Williams - 16
Esteban Ocon, Haas - 10
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin - 10
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari - 9
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari - 8
Nico Hülkenberg, Sauber - 6
Ollie Bearman, Haas - 4
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull (Pointes earned with Racing Bulls) – 3
Carlos Sainz, Williams - 1
Preamble
Joey Lynch
Afternoon all and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of qualifying at the legendary Suzuka Circuit, as the 2025 Formula One World Championship season hits Japan.
My name is Joey Lynch and after missing out on Shanghai because I was an hour’s bullet train ride away watching Australia beat China in World Cup qualifying in Hangzhou, I’m back to take you through qualifying as well as tomorrow’s race.
All eyes, undoubtedly, are set to be on Yuki Tsunoda this weekend. Not only is it the Japanese driver’s home race but it’s his first since he was promoted to sit in the (maybe cursed?) number two seat at Red Bull following the unceremonious dumping of Liam Lawson after just two races.
The 24-year-old showed promise in the chaos that was yesterday’s practice sessions and landed in the top 10 in today’s final hit out before qualifying. No prize for guessing who has shown the most pace, however, with the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri again going fastest in the earlier session.
Qualifying starts at 3pm JST/11pm PST/6am GMT/5pm AEDT.
