Max Verstappen shows his class to take shock Japan GP pole position ahead of Lando Norris
Max Verstappen produced an incredible lap to stun McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and claim a shock pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix.
McLaren have won both races so far this season – one each for Norris and Piastri – and had set the pace by topping all three practice sessions this weekend.
Verstappen's Red Bull has been off the pace throughout practice, with the four-time world champion saying he was lacking confidence in his car ahead of qualifying.
But the Dutchman showed his quality when it mattered to beat Norris by just 0.012 seconds. Verstappen's race engineer told his driver over the radio that the lap was 'insane'.
Piastri will line up from third on his birthday on Sunday, ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
George Russell, who has finished third in the first two races of the season, had appeared to be the nearest challenger to the McLarens at Suzuka but could only manage fifth in his Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton struggled to find pace for Ferrari and will start Sunday's race from eighth.
Verstappen said: 'Every session we just kept on making little improvements, I think that is where we made the difference and the last lap was just flat out.
'We will look to tomorrow and do our best.'
Norris added: 'I'm happy, congrats to Max he did a good job. You've got to credit something when it's a lap that good that he must have done.
'It's going to be an exciting race.'
British driver Oliver Bearman enjoyed a superb session, putting his Haas into Q3 for the first time this season and qualified 10th.
TOP-10 - JAPAN GP QUALIFYING
Home favourite Yuki Tsunoda suffered a disappointing Q2 exit on his Red Bull debut, having replaced Liam Lawson who was ditched after just two races and returned to Racing Bulls.
Tsunoda qualified 15th and one place behind Lawson – the New Zealander making it out of Q1 for the first time this campaign.
Qualifying was disrupted by grass fires at the side of the track, an issue which has plagued the action throughout the weekend.
Friday's second practice and Saturday morning's session were each red-flagged twice when dry grass caught fire.
The FIA had taken preventative measures heading into Saturday's action and again doused the grass ahead of qualifying, with concern that the weekend's first competitive racing could be affected.
Another fire, primarily caused by sparks thrown up by the skid blocks under the cars, began with eight minutes of Q2 remaining as the session was halted for more water to be put on the affected area.
The race on Sunday takes place at 6am (BST).
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Williams were quick in 2002, but where this falls down against other intra-team clashes is that the Ferrari was so dominant that season that Schumacher and Montoya were battling for the Scuderia's scraps, so there was less on the line. Needle rating: 6½/10 2002 USA Williams-BMW team-mates Ralf Schumacher & Juan Pablo Montoya collided on lap 2, resulting in the German losing his rear wing & lost 2 laps requiring repairs. The Colombian clinched p4 & Ralf limped home in p16 and last #F1 — F1 Icons That Go Hard (@CrystalRacing) September 29, 2020 5. Vettel vs Leclerc, Brazilian Grand Prix 2019 By the time Charles Leclerc started at Ferrari, there were mounting questions about Sebastian Vettel's racecraft and ability. That increased in 2019 – this was only Leclerc's second season in F1, yet he outclassed the four-time champion regularly. In the early part of the season, Ferrari had made a mess of team orders, favouring Vettel. By the Brazilian Grand Prix in November, it was clear Vettel was yesterday's man at the Scuderia. The contact on the second straight that led to this collision and both Ferrari cars retiring was not enormous. But it was a part of the wider narrative that defined that year and the German's latter career. Needle rating: 7/10 It was a disaster for Ferrari in Brazil!😩 @KarunChandhok takes a closer look at the collision between @Charles_Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel, that left Ferrari with two DNFs.💥 Who is to blame?🤔 Powered by @awscloud #F1Insights — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) November 18, 2019 4. Vettel vs Webber, 2010 Turkish Grand Prix Most team-mate crashes come with a wider story of a power struggle within a team. It is a universal truth in F1 that the first person you want to beat is your team-mate, ideally handsomely. In 2010, Red Bull had become a title-contending force, six years into their time in F1. Mark Webber had been with the team since 2007, but now had the prodigious Vettel to deal with. Heading into round seven in Turkey the pair were level on points at the top of the standings. Inevitably, something had to give and it did so in dramatic fashion at Istanbul Park. The two Red Bull cars collided at high speed, a puncture ending Vettel's race. Webber finished third, to lead the standings. Yet seven months later, it was the German who was crowned champion. Needle rating: 7½/10 Teammate trouble in Turkey! 💥 Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber came together at the 2010 #TurkishGP! 🇹🇷 #SkyF1 | #F1 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) August 25, 2020 3. Ricciardo vs Verstappen, 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Like Turkey in 2018, this almighty shunt in Azerbaijan came in the context of an Australian trying – and failing – to remain top man at Red Bull in the presence of an astonishing talent. Few would rank Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen all that closely in a list of all-time F1 drivers but they were still fairly evenly matched in 2018. Indeed, at the point of their collision in Azerbaijan, Ricciardo was coming off the back of a win in China and had twice as many points as Verstappen. What happened here, though, was characteristic of this period of Verstappen's F1 career. Blindingly quick, yes, but prone to causing damage and a hint of moving under braking in close combat. Ricciardo rear-ended Verstappen at the end of the super-long pit straight after a closely fought battle. Neither man accepted responsibility. What happened next? Ricciardo left Red Bull for Renault for 2019, while Verstappen established himself as one of F1's greats at the team. Needle rating: 8/10 2. Rosberg vs Hamilton, 2016 Spanish Grand Prix Nico Rosberg deserves enormous credit for taking the fight to Hamilton in their three seasons together at Mercedes. Sometimes literally. While a fine driver, Rosberg was not quite as fast as Hamilton (and perhaps knew so), which meant he had to be (or chose to be) combative with his tactics both on and off the track. There were several instances of contact between (Belgium in 2014, Austria later in 2016) but this was by far the most significant and dramatic. It was another season where Mercedes dominated, meaning the champion would be one of their two drivers. At the start of the Spanish Grand Prix, Rosberg did not want to cede the lead, forcing Hamilton on the grass. The Briton then spun into his team-mate, taking them both into the gravel and out of the race. Hamilton held his head in his hands. The context of a third consecutive title fight (Rosberg eventually won), a former friendship turned sour and both cars crashing out in dramatic style means this can only be beaten by one other... Needle rating: 9/10 1. Senna vs Prost, 1989 Japanese Grand Prix After a couple of years of simmering rivalry at McLaren, this supreme partnership erupted in controversy towards the end of their two seasons together. As far as the actual collision goes, this is the tamest of the 10 we have here and at the lowest speed. Heading into the Japanese Grand Prix in 1988 Senna needed to win to keep his championship hopes alive. As they entered Suzuka's final chicane, the Brazilian put his McLaren up the inside but Prost did not back out, the pair collided and Prost retired. Senna was then disqualified for rejoining the track illegally and the Ferrari-bound Frenchman won the championship. The fallout was as bitter as it gets: Senna alleged the outcome was 'manipulated' by the sport's international governing body in Prost's favour. He was almost banned from competing in F1 in 1990. He was not, though, and the pair crashed again the following season at the same track, driving for different teams. Will this ever be beaten? Needle rating: 10/10
