Qualifying Report - Postponed pole

By Dan Knutson in Suzuka

All track activities at the Suzuka circuit were canceled on Saturday as Typhoon Hagibis swept through the area. Qualifying, therefore, was postponed from Saturday afternoon until Sunday morning. And when the session was finally completed, had won the pole for the Japanese Grand Prix due to start less than three hours later.

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes – Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari – Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc; Red Bull TAG Heuer – Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon; Renault – Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg; Haas Ferrari – Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; McLaren Renault – Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris; Racing Point Mercedes – Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll; Alfa Romeo Ferrari – Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi; Toro Rosso Honda – Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly; Williams Mercedes – George Russell and Robert Kubica.

QUALIFYING 1

After all the rain and wind on Saturday, it was sunny with clear skies and a zero percent chance of rain on Sunday. There were still some gusty winds. The ambient temperature at the start of the session was 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 93 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Centigrade).

Leclerc, Vettel and Sainz were the first on track for Q1 which lasted 18 minutes. But after just over two minutes the session was red flagged when Kubica ran wide coming out of the final corner and slammed into the barriers.

“I’m okay but it is a @#%&*$ joke,” he radioed.

After an eight-minute stoppage time Q1 got underway again.

All the rain had washed away the imbedded rubber leaving the track very green indeed. And slippery. After just four minutes the session was red flagged again – this time because Magnussen had gone off at the same spot as Kubica. But while Kubica’s car was a wreck, Magnussen managed to limp back to the pits.

After a seven-minute stoppage time Q1 got underway again. A long line of drivers waited to get out on track.

Bottas clocked a 1:29.413. Hamilton could not beat that, but Verstappen’s 1:28.754 did. But not for long as Leclerc took the lead at 1:298.405.

Vettel slotted into third ahead of Sainz, Albon, Bottas and Hamilton.

On the bubble in 15th place with five minutes remaining was Russell. Stroll was 14th and Perez was 16th.

Then Hamilton went out for a second run that put him up to second. Perez went from 16th to 12th, and Grosjean popped up to eighth.

The two red flag stops had ruined the fast laps of many a driver, so there were many desperate drivers trying to get a final fast lap in during the final couple of minutes.

The five drivers who were eliminated at the end of Q1 were: Ricciardo, Perez, Russell, Magnussen and Kubica.

The fastest 15 drivers who moved on to Q2 were: Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris, Bottas Vettel, Sainz, Albon, Gasly, Grosjean, Stroll, Giovinazzi, Hulkenberg, Raikkonen and Kvyat.

QUALIFYING 2

Leclerc was out first. He turned the lap in 1:28.179. Then Vettel crossed the line at 1:28.174. Then Hamilton took the lead with a 1:27.826 while teammate Bottas slid into fourth ahead of Verstappen, Albon and Sainz.

“No power,” Verstappen radioed.

With six minutes to go, right on the cutline of 10th place was Grosjean. Norris was ninth and Gasly was 10th.

At five minutes to go, all 15 drivers were in the pits preparing for their final runs. They were waiting for the last minute to get the track at its optimum state. Then with just over four minutes to go, a number of them –all except the Ferrari duo – headed out, thus creating the potential of their own traffic jams.

Hulkenberg was told to limp back to the pits after he reported a gearbox problem. “Hydraulic pressure loss for Nico, which led to him being stuck in gear. Our garage crew is straight to work on fixing it,” Renault tweeted.

Albon leaped up to third while Bottas took the lead.

The five drivers who were eliminated at the end of Q2 were: Giovinazzi, Stroll, Raikkonen, Kvyat and Hulkenberg.

The fastest 10 drivers who moved on to Q3 were: Bottas, Hamilton, Albon, Vettel, Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Sainz, Gasly and Grosjean.

QUALIFYING 3

Q3 lasted 12 minutes and Norris and Gasly were the first out. Everybody but Grosjean joined them.

Bottas, the first of the fast, clocked a 1:27.696, and Hamilton a 1:27.696. Vettel swept by them by posting a track record 1:27.212, while Leclerc grabbed second at 1:27.535.

So Bottas, Hamilton, Verstappen, Albon, Norris, Sainz rounded out the top nine with Grosjean 10th.

While the rest were now in the garages, Grosjean went out first with just under three minutes to go. Soon all 10 were on track.

Leclerc’s lap yielded a 1:27.253, so he did not beat Vettel’s time. But Vettel beat his time with a 1:27.064.

So Vettel earned his 57th pole and started the race alongside Leclerc. Bottas, Hamilton, Verstappen, Albon, Sainz, Norris, Gasly and Grosjean rounded out the top 10 in this postponed qualifying session.