In a stunning display of dominance, Max Verstappen returned to the top of his game at the Japanese Grand Prix qualifying. His performance was so dominant that he finished a whopping 0.581 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor, Oscar Piastri. This was the 29th pole of Verstappen’s career. The sizable gap between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton has left the latter doubting his team’s ability to catch up to Red Bull in the 2024 season.
In contrast, Mercedes struggled in the qualifying round. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, the Mercedes drivers, trailed more than one second behind Verstappen, finishing in seventh and eighth places respectively. Hamilton expressed his disappointment with the car’s performance and emphasized the need for changes in their car concept for the 2024 season.
After a tough weekend in Singapore, Max revealed that Red Bull has a lot more to unleash. The Dutch driver felt the car was performing exceptionally well from the first lap and expressed his enthusiasm for getting on the pole.
Lewis Hamilton on Mercedes’ rear end issues
Hamilton is certainly not optimistic about Mercedes challenging Red Bull for the title in 2024. The Suzuka circuit proved a challenging course for Mercedes, as they struggled to match the pace set by Verstappen. Hamilton admitted that their car’s balance didn’t feel great during the first day’s practice sessions.
The Briton said, “Then in qualifying I was giving it everything but that seven-tenths deficit we have in sector one, it’s all rear end. Our car has loads of load on the front and not as much as we need on the rear” in an interview with Sky Sports.
However, The Briton said that the team made some changes overnight, which led to a much better experience during qualifying. Despite the progress, Hamilton emphasized the need to address the underlying issues of the car. While Mercedes faced difficulties, McLaren emerged as contenders, securing second and third positions in the qualifying session.
McLaren’s strong performance led by Piastri and Norris
In Q3, Verstappen obliterated everyone. He set the benchmark at 1:29.012s in the early minutes of Q3 and improved to a 1:28.877s on his second run. However, for a long time, McLaren was right on his toes.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri qualified for the Japanese Grand Prix in P2 and P3, giving McLaren a strong showing. Norris praised the team’s efforts to improve the car and expressed hope for a positive race result.
In the end, it seems likely that Verstappen is set to win his 13th race of the season. Most fans and pundits are already accepting the outcome, but what remains in the final few races of the season remains to be seen.
