F1 News: Verstappen beats superior McLarens with inferior RB21

Everyone knows that the Red Bull RB21 is a sled that Max Verstappen has been carrying it on his back all year so far, but the lap Verstappen put in to win pole for the 2025 Japanese GP at Suzuka was just unbelievable.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

While his new teammate Yuki Tsunoda was out in Q2 and will start back in 14th in the same inferior Red Bull, Verstappen beat the two superior McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri by 0.012s and 0.044s respectively.

“The last lap was just flat out,” said Verstappen who set a new Suzuka lap record in winning his 41st pole. “Around here, being on the limit or just a little bit over in places is incredibly rewarding.”

It was the 4th straight pole at Suzuka for Verstappen, and he broke the lap record previously held by Sebastian Vettel in 2019 at 1m27.064s.

After Piastri and Norris set the pace during Q1 and Q2 respectively in their superior McLarens, the trend initially looked to have continued into the top-10 shootout, with Piastri provisionally going fastest during the first runs.

Norris, who topped final practice, then seemed to have secured pole as the final laps went on the board – before Verstappen, wringing the neck out of the RB21, surged through to go fastest of all on a 1m 26.983s, the Red Bull driver beating Norris by just 0.012s while Piastri had to settle for third.

Fernando Alonso was impressed with Verstappen. He said after qualifying,

There is no other driver at the moment that can drive a car and put it so high on the grid, higher than the car serves. It was a magical moment. — Fernando Alonso

Charles Leclerc was the faster of the two Ferraris in 4th, 0.316s behind Verstappen.

George Russell rounded out the top-5 for Mercedes, 0.335s behind Verstappen.

Russell’s rookie Mercedes teammate, Kimi Antonelli, was 6th, 0.572s behind Verstappen.

Lewis Hamilton claimed eighth place in the Ferrari, ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and the Haas of Ollie Bearman in ninth and 10th respectively.

The big news from Q2 was the exit of Yuki Tsunoda in P15 during his debut Qualifying for Red Bull, the Japanese driver placing behind Liam Lawson – the man he replaced – who took P14 for Racing Bulls.

It is clear now that the Racing Bulls (Red Bull ‘B’ team) car is a faster car than the Red Bull ‘A’ team car. Isack Hadjar starting up in 7th, eight spots ahead of Tsunoda, underscores the fact that the Racing Bulls car is faster than the Red Bull if not for Verstappen carrying it to the front.

However, in a full race distance, can Verstappen fend off the two mighty McLarens behind him? Stay tuned Sunday to find out.

Note*: Carlos Sainz Jr. has been handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Lewis Hamilton. This drops Sainz from P12 to P15 for the Grand Prix

2025 Japanese GP Qualifying Results