Relive the qualifying of the Japanese Grand Prix with live commentary

After a two-week break, the Formula 1 is back for the Japanese Grand Prix, the scene of the third round of the 2025 season. On the agenda this Saturday morning, qualifying, which promises to be once again very lively. The main question is: McLaren Will they keep their grip on the exercise after the pole positions of Lando Norris et Oscar piastri, first in Australia and more recently in China? Max Verstappen or George Russell, the closest since the beginning of the year, will they dash hopes? Ferrari will they wake up?

You can follow the evolution of the classification of these qualifications of the Japanese GP live thanks to the live timing of F1.

F1 – Japanese GP
Live qualifying commentary

9:14 AM – 🏁 That's the end of this live commentary. Thank you for joining us this Saturday morning. We wish you a great day and look forward to seeing you again at 7:00 AM this Sunday for the Grand Prix!

9:09 AM – 🏁 AND POLE POSITION FOR VERSTAPPEN! OUT OF NOWHERE! The Dutchman took everyone by surprise, especially the McLarens, to take pole position! A huge performance from the reigning world champion, who doesn't have a single absolute record in a sector on his last lap, to set a time of 1:26, beating Norris and Piastri by 983 and 12 thousandths respectively. This is his 44th consecutive pole in Japan and the 4st of his career. It's the first since 41 Grands Prix, and Austria last year. Leclerc and Russell completed the Top 15. A very good performance from Hadjar, who equaled his best performance with the 5th time just ahead Hamilton, Albon and Bearman

9:03 a.m. – While waiting for the last attempt, here is an update on the ranking of this Q3:

9:00 a.m. – The circuit record has been set! 1'27"052 thanks to Piastri's first flying lap in this Q3, which put Verstappen at 0"226, while Norris is only 5th, almost half a second behind. The Englishman lost a lot of time in the second sector.

8h59 - Russell sets the first time in this Q3 in 1'27"318 but his time should quickly be beaten

8:56 AM – 🟢 Will Norris secure his first front row start in Japan? The answer will be in 10 minutes as the light turns green in this Q3

8:53 – 💬 Or with He spoke about his elimination in Q1 to Canal+: "It's a circuit that normally suits me well. We tried a lot of things this weekend between the two cars, lots of different parts in each session, but unfortunately something didn't work. On our side, we were lacking a lot of performance in quite a few places on the track, it was clear and obvious. It's a shame. A difficult session for us, now it's good that it worked on Ollie's [Bearman's] car. We have to look at why and how we can resolve it on mine. It's a good thing that the team managed to improve on one side, we have to be able to do it on both [cars]. There were a lot of different things during the weekend, now we should have also had this performance gain in qualifying, unfortunately we didn't have it." (Ocon confirms that he "normally" has the same car as Bearman).

8:47 🏁– It won't pass either for gasly, which improves but only enough to move up to 11th place. Sainz, Alonso, Lawson and tsunoda are the others eliminated in this Q2. Good news for Hadjar who despite his strap problems will be there for Q3 thanks to the 9th time

8h45 - It won't work for Tsunoda. 11th fastest time, just 20 seconds behind Gasly in 10th. Meanwhile, Lawson provisionally qualifies for Q3 with the 10th fastest time.

8h43 - Hamilton and Leclerc improved but remained far behind Norris' time. They were 5th and 4th respectively, more than 4 tenths of a second behind Norris.

8:39 a.m. – 🟢 The small fire has been brought under control and Q2 can resume. The Ferraris, with Hamilton leading the way, are the first to take to the track.

8:34 a.m. – 🔴 We take advantage of the red flag to take stock of the standings, led by Norris ahead of Russell and Verstappen. Sainz, Alonso, Bearman, Tsunoda and Lawson are provisionally eliminated.

8:32 a.m. – 🔴 Red flag waved with 8'26 on the clock! This one is again caused by a grass fire at the 130R, just before the last chicane.

8h30 - But McLaren took back the lead thanks to Norris who put 0 to Verstappen, further proof that the MCL356s are working very well in Japan.

8h28 - Verstappen sets the first benchmark in this Q2: 1'27"502. That's already faster than Piastri's best time in Q1.

8:25 a.m. – 🟢 Q2 begins at Suzuka with 15 minutes left on the clock. Verstappen is the first to take to the track.

8h21 - Racing Bulls asked Hadjar to speed up his lap back into the pits as they still had to work on his car. This time, the French driver even got out of his car

8:18 a.m. – 🏁 A fast-paced end to the session. Piastri has taken the lead ahead of Russell. Hadjar improves and advances to Q2 thanks to the 13th fastest time. However, things don't go well for Ocon, who is 18th behind. Hulkenberg and Bortoleto. Doohan and Stroll, who did not complete their last fast lap, are the last two eliminated

8h17 - "The problem is still there, I can't believe it." Despite having his car repaired, Hadjar is still experiencing the same problem with his interior... He is currently 19th.

8h13 - Five minutes from the end, Lawson, Alonso, Antonelli, Hadjar and Stroll are provisionally eliminated

8h12 - Things are improving in this Q1. Norris takes back the lead in 1:27, while Leclerc has moved up to second place by just 845 seconds. Hamilton has moved up to sixth place, but remains almost half a second off the benchmark in this Q2.

8h10 - Hadjar reported a problem with the cockpit. "Still the same problem in the cockpit," he told his engineer.

8h08 - Is Russell the main threat to McLaren? The Englishman seems to confirm it with the second fastest time, just 58 seconds behind Piastri.

8h07 - Little by little, the times are coming together. Piastri tops the timesheets with a time of 1:28, ahead of Norris by 143:0. Verstappen is third, 090:0 behind Leclerc and Tsunoda.

8h04 - Doohan completes his first quick attempt. 1'29"803 for him, almost 4 tenths of a second behind Bearman's mark. He is provisionally 4th.

8:00 a.m. – 🟢 The light turns green at the end of pit lane and the first drivers are already rushing onto the track. Q1 is underway!

7h56 - News from Doohan after his accident the day before. The Australian is well on his way to starting this Saturday after the enormous work of the mechanics.Alpine. If the engine elements have been preserved, the chassis of his A525 has indeed been changed

7:52 p.m. – ☀️ It's cool this Saturday afternoon in Suzuka. The thermometer reads 15°C in the air and 36°C on the ground.

7h49 - McLaren looks set to take pole position this Saturday. The English team dominated all three free practice sessions, confirming that it is a cut above the competition.

Japan – EL3: McLaren takes a one-two before qualifying

7:45 p.m. – 👋 Hello everyone! Welcome to this live commentary to follow the qualifying rounds for the Japanese Grand Prix, the third round of the 2025 Formula 1 season. The green light will be given in a few minutes, at 8:00 a.m.!

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