All eyes were on McLaren during the Japanese Grand Prix qualifying session on Saturday as many expected them to fight for pole. While they did fight for it, they ended up short of Max Verstappen, who set a new lap record around Suzuka to edge both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri by less than a tenth.
Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, were nowhere in the picture in the fight for pole. While Charles Leclerc exceeded expectations by qualifying fourth, the Briton only managed P8 and was also slower than the Racing Bulls of Isack Hadjar.
Plenty to play for tomorrow pic.twitter.com/LbuJAl2rKt
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 5, 2025
The seven-time World Champion appeared visibly frustrated. Since joining Ferrari, things haven’t quite been going the way he had envisioned.
Although it wasn’t a certainty, he surely hoped to fight for poles, wins, and podiums, but so far, a solitary sprint race victory in China has been his only source of glory. That said, the 40-year-old didn’t let it affect a rather unique streak he had going at Suzuka since his rookie season in 2007.
A driver of Hamilton’s calibre doesn’t aim to just make it into Q3. But at the very least, it’s a benchmark—one he’s consistently achieved in Japan. Today’s result isn’t even his worst-ever at Suzuka; that came back in 2012 when he qualified P9.
17th qualifying in Suzuka this weekend
[@f1statsguru] pic.twitter.com/1CfFZ5L0aR
— sim (@simsgazette) April 2, 2025
Still, this isn’t where he wants to be—especially at a track he clearly loves. Hamilton has taken pole at Suzuka four times and won the race on three occasions. But making it a fourth victory looks near impossible now—and Hamilton knows it. Unless rain hits the circuit tomorrow.
After qualifying, the Ferrari driver went to the media pen to admit, “Not good enough from my side. P8 is not great. We are running higher than I would like, but everyone is in the same boat.”
The high-downforce setup didn’t work out for Hamilton, and in hindsight, it probably wasn’t the right call on the day. Verstappen, the star of the show, took a gamble and went with a lower-downforce configuration.
However, if the heavens open up tomorrow, just as Hamilton is hoping, the Dutchman could find himself at a significant disadvantage. “I genuinely love the rain, so I hope it comes tomorrow after a qualifying like that,” said Hamilton.
