Throughout the practice sessions, the orange and black McLarens had the measure of everyone else, with Mercedes’ George Russell looking quite quick, too. But Q3 is where it really counts, and Verstappen’s final lap was one of the all-time greats. Whether you like him or not, the Dutch driver is at a level no one else can match right now, and he dragged his Red Bull to a time it shouldn’t have been capable of, breaking the overall track record for Suzuka in the process. F1 prevents me from embedding the YouTube video in this post, but you can view it for yourself on YouTube.
Speaking of onboards, we’re spoiled with both a visorcarm (pioneered by Formula E, to give credit where it’s due) and the gyrocam, which might be the most immersive onboard feed yet. It has a wider field of view than the normal onboard camera and is not as well-stabilized, so you get a much better impression of just how much an F1 car vibrates at speed. Only a few cars carry a gyrocam at each race for now, but I’m eager to see it become more widespread.
Neither Lando Norris nor Oscar Piastri in the McLarens had perfect laps; Piastri in particular gave up plenty of time in the first sector of the track. Regardless, all three were separated by just 0.044 seconds, with the gap between Verstappen and Norris being a mere 0.012 seconds. All three were faster than Sebastian Vettel’s record time set in 2019. Comparing the onboard feeds, it is awe-inspiring how late Verstappen was able to brake—successfully—for the Casio triangle, maybe 20 m after everyone else.
Isack Hadjar, in the other RB, put in something of an inspiring performance, too, not just making it into the top 10 but doing so in severe discomfort while his over-tightened lap belts were threatening his reproductive health. I’m more and more impressed with this young French driver, who certainly never seems to have a boring moment.