F1 qualifying results: Max Verstappen dominates in Japan as Lewis Hamilton left baffled | F1

Verstappen set an ominously fast pace during the early stages of Q1, punching in a time that was nearly four-tenths faster than closest rival Fernando Alonso to make a clear statement of intent. While Alonso showed impressive early pace, there was less to celebrate for his team-mate Lance Stroll, who continued his 100 per cent record of Q1 eliminations at Suzuka.

Q2 was a similar story as the reigning world champion posted the fastest time although, notably, his Red Bull colleague was just 12 milliseconds off the pace. Perez remained Verstappen’s closest challenger in Q3 and on his final run, it looked as though the 34-year-old may launch a challenge for pole position, but when the chequered flag waved, the pair were split by 0.066s.

Lando Norris rounded out the top three with Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri following suit. After a promising string of practice sessions, Lewis Hamilton could only manage a P7 finish. The Mercedes star was left baffled after race engineer Pete Bonnington told him the size of the gap after the first Q3 runs, dialling into the team radio to say: “Where is that half a second, man?”