‘That was one of his best laps in Qualifying ever’ – Horner lauds Verstappen’s incredible Suzuka pole success

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner lauded Max Verstappen’s pole lap at Suzuka as «one of his best laps in Qualifying ever».

Verstappen secured a shock pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix, besting McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri by 0.012s and 0.044s respectively with his remarkable 1m 26.983s effort.

Prior to Q3, it had been the McLaren duo that had shared the top of the leaderboard across the weekend with Verstappen achieving a best placing of fifth across the three Free Practice sessions.

However, the reigning World Champion put it all together on his final run of Q3 to deliver the perfect lap – an effort that was dubbed «insane» by his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.

Qualifying Highlights: 2025 Japanese Grand Prix

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 shortly after the reigning champion had crossed the line, Red Bull boss Horner said: “Unbelievable. We did not expect that and, about Max, what can you say? Just an outstanding lap. He’s extracted every ounce of performance.

“He and his engineering team were working on the preparation and getting his tyres in exactly the right window, and I think he’s got the most out of it today.

“Getting that pole position was completely against the run of form that we’ve been seeing. A massive result for him and a big lift for the team.”

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While Verstappen was able to unlock session-topping pace, new team mate Yuki Tsunoda struggled, with a pair of errors early in his Q2 lap leaving him 15th fastest – although he will start the Japanese Grand Prix 14th after Carlos Sainz was handed a three-place penalty for impeding Lewis Hamilton.

Before showing a stunning turn of pace, however, Verstappen had also been having issues with the RB21, describing it as “undriveable” at one point.

SUZUKA, JAPAN - APRIL 05: Pole position qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red — Verstappen will start on pole for the first time since last year’s Austrian Grand Prix

Commenting on the challenge of getting the car into a working window, Horner added: “They’ve turned the car upside down this weekend. We’ve been around the houses with it and Max and his team have done a great job, just getting the car coming into the window and the tyres coming into the right place, and just bring everything together.

“I think the McLarens, if they’d put their laps together, on the theoretical, they’re half-a-tenth quicker. But they didn’t get that together.

“With Max, he left nothing on the table. That was one of his best laps in Qualifying ever.”