Japanese Grand Prix qualifying – F1: Live timing and lap-by-lap updates as Max Verstappen tops second qualifying session as he looks for a fourth consecutive pole while Yuki Tsunoda reaches Q3 at his home GP

Hamilton got the third-best time in Q2 after converting to the unused soft tyres and has a shot of making it to the second row here.

The Red Bulls look as if they’re going to lock out the front row but you never know what’s going to happen.

That was quite some roar from the stands!

They have just gone wild here in Suzuka after home hero Yuki Tsunoda sneaks his way into Q3 at the very last moment.

At the top of the tree, the Red Bulls were the first two cars out on track for Q2 and duly posted the two quickest times of the session.

Max Verstappen still leads the way but Sergio Perez is quietly making in-roads into the gap between the pair, cutting it to only 12 milliseconds. Lewis Hamilton improves to third-quickest.

Yuki Tsunoda has got himself into Q3 at his home race at the expense of his RB team-mate Daniel Ricciardo!

Bottas was in the top 10 for most of the session but dropped down to 13th at the end.

Verstappen and Perez were the top two, with Hamilton, Norris, Alonso, Sainz, Russell, Piastri, Leclerc, and Tsunoda rounding out the top 10.

11) Ricciardo

12) Hulkenberg

13) Bottas

Hamilton has put himself third with a fresh set of tyres in a solid run, but Russell is only seventh and Leclerc is ninth as we get into the closing stages of Q2.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have recorded the best two times so far. Norris and Alonso tail them.

Hamilton and Russell are with a new set of soft boots as they are at risk of dropping out if they don’t improve, though they are in the top 10 still.

Nico Hulkenger, who was 12th, has had a lap time deleted with six minutes to go.

The Hulk is a fan favourite for many as he is the longest-serving F1 driver without a podium place.

Tsunoda, Ocon, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, and Albon make up the bottom five so far.

Hamilton and Russell are only eighth and ninth!

Alongside Esteban Ocon, Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda, Alex Albon, and Valtteri Bottas are all in this session and will be hoping to get into the top 10.

The exit of Stroll in Q1 has given them a chance to finish higher than expected, despite all of their cars struggling this season.

Obviously, the likes of Bottas, a former winner here, is no ‘minnow’, but you know what I mean!

Esteban Ocon was delighted to get out of Q1. It has been a miserable season for him and Alpine so far.

Well, there’s no doubt over the surprise of the session with Lance Stroll knocked out from Q1… while his Aston Martin team-mate splits the Red Bulls in second!

There was also a late improvement from Charles Leclerc, who went fourth quickest for Ferrari but remains almost half a second behind Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen came out on top in the first qualifying session with Fernando Alonso doing so credibly to get the second-best time.

His Aston Martin team-mate, Lance Stroll, is out though! And Zhou Guanyu is the slowest driver for the third qualifying session in a row.

16) Stroll – Aston Martin

17) Gasly – Alpine

18) Magnussen – Haas

19) Sargeant – Williams

20) Zhou – Sauber

It has been a sleak session for McLaren, who are cruising through to the next round as expected.

Zhou, Magnussen, Sargeant, Hulkenberg, and Gasly are all at risk as they’re in the bottom five with just over a couple of minutes to go.

Hamilton and Russell currently have the seventh and eighth-best times in Q1, which would amount to their worst session of the weekend yet.

This is NOT the time to be slipping up. Can they find their feet?

Verstappen has put in the fastest time so far with 15 cars having done a lap.

He’s 0.388 seconds ahead of Alonso in second.

Russell and Piastri will be investgated after the session for unsafe release after Russell’s jab into the pack heading out of the pits.

They darted into the posse of cars rather than waiting to go at the back – understandable, considering how slow they were going – but that will see them have to explain themselves to the stewards.

A queue of cars has just entered the track at Suzuka. They have to back off to give each other a gap but this is always tricky to negotiate. You’ve got to keep your tyres warm without getting too close to the man in front.

George Russell barged his way into the stream of cars and that was slightly dangerous from the Brit.

Kevin Magnussen is the first driver to hit the track for Q1. He hasn’t been happy with the car and they’ve made some changes – he had the worst time in P3. The Dane is using a set of soft tyres in a bid to make it to Q2.

Hats off to whoever put these dolls of Hamilton and Russell together, but I do find them somewhat spooky.

Russel Jr does not have a mouth, which should make radio communications awkward.

I’m just a bit bewildered by all this, to be honest.

How are the cans not tipping off his head at that angle? Who is he delivering them to? Did Verstappen and Perez know they would be recreated in miniature to advertise this chap’s fledgling drink-selling pursuit?

Henry Clark is Mail Sport’s man on the ground for this weekend.

We’re just minutes out from qualifying now and he has been posting on X, so do make sure to follow him.

Lewis Hamilton has been in a buoyant mood following uplifting signs from the Silver Arrows this weekend so far.

He claims this is the best the car has felt all year – although the previous races haven’t been that hard to beat…

RB handed Ayumu Iwasa a debut at his home GP for the first couple of practice sessions and he has been lapping up the love from his home fans.

It’s the same for Yuki Tsunoda, who has been receiving plenty of love from the F1 faithful.

These Prancing Horse fans were certainly jocular as they donned their favourite hats, but the mood won’t be the same in the team’s garage.

Sky Sports are reporting that Ferrari have struggled to adapt to the temperatures in Japan and could be fourth-quickest in this qualifying behind Red Bull, Mercedes, and McLaren.

In P3, Carlos Sainz recorded the seventh-fastest time and Charles Leclerc could only manage 10th – worse than Yuki Tsunoda of RB.

Sky Sports’ Rachel Brookes said: ‘Ferrari aren’t as quick as we were expecting them this weekend. It seems like they are being affected by the warmer temperatures today – everyone was expecting it to be much cooler.

“It’s around 19 degrees today and this has potentially caught them out slightly, with these warmer temperatures not working for them right now.’

Our reporter Henry Clark is out in Japan and has sent over this analysis of the third practice session… and it turns out it was rather turbulent for Red Bull!

‘There were a lot of keen eyes on this morning’s third and final practice session after the weather made yesterday’s second practice somewhat of a damp squib.

‘Out on track, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen went quickest but it was not plain-sailing for the Dutchman.

‘He complained of a vibrating mirror while Verstappen was also forced to take things into his own hands, quite literally, as he reached out of his cockpit to press down a piece of tape that had come loose on his car.

‘Team-mate Sergio Perez was second-quickest despite complaining about drivability issues with his car.

‘There were further encouraging signs for Mercedes with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton third and fourth-quickest respectively.’

Did you know that Oscar Piastri knows some Japanese?

He might be from Australia, but it turns out he’s rather handy with the native language of this weekend’s GP.

Back at the Australian GP, Max Verstappen’s car failure meant he surrendered his nine0race winning streak.

That gave Carlos Sainz the chance to steal in and claim the top step on the podium after returning from appendicitis.

Neither of the Mercedes cars finished. It has been a dire start to the season for them. Can they recover this weekend?

Charles Leclerc was irate when the decision to send him out late for a second flying lap, giving him less time on the track.

A rainy second practice session left teams with little chance to test themselves so there was even more onus on a good third session, which Leclerc clearly felt the Scuderia didn’t have!

Red Bull completed a 1-2 in the third practice session, with Max Verstappen coming out on top with a time of 1:29.563, ahead of Sergio Perez 0.269s behind. 

Mercedes had an encouraging session, with George Russell recording the third-best time ahead of Lewis Hamilton in fourth. If they can repeat that form in qualifying then Toto Wolff will be a happy man.

Good morning and welcome to Mail Sport’s live coverage of qualifying for the Japanese GP in Suzuka. The first qualifying session is due to get underway at 3pm UK time to grab your popcorn, stick on your helmet, and do whatever you need to do to get in the mood for another cracker.