Live ticker: This is how Verstappen won the Suzuka pole! / System 1

Formula 1 drivers started qualifying for the Japanese GP with fewer kilometers to experience than usual, as the second free practice session on Friday afternoon came to an end. Only 13 of the 20 pilots appeared on the slope, and only five of them recorded a lap time. The GP stars took their laps harder in the final hour of free practice.

Champion Max Verstappen was the fastest. The Dutchman ran the 5.807km distance more than half a tenth faster than his Red Bull Racing team-mate Sergio Pérez. Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were also quick, lining up behind their team mates from Milton Keynes.

Fernando Alonso completed the top five, followed by three of the four competitors from Ferrari and McLaren: Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri. Home hero Yuki Tsunoda and Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari completed the top 10 in the third practice session. Max Verstappen also set the tone in qualifying. How he secured the 36th place in his football career and who will start next to him from the front line is on the sticker here.