After dominating all three free practice sessions, points leader and two time World Champion, Max Verstappen of Red Bull, qualified on the pole Saturday at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Suzuka, Japan for the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix.

Red Bull can win the F1 Constructors Championship this week by netting 309 points over Mercedes and Ferrari. Verstappen could win the Drivers Championship at the next Grand Prix, Oct 6-8, in Qatar.

"It's been a crazy weekend so far, we've been on another level. The car was on the rails and I could really push it to the limit," said Verstappen, adding, "Looking ahead to tomorrow, degradation will be high so we need to look after our tyres. It won't be straightforward that's for sure. The aim is to win the Constructors Championship this weekend, especially on Honda's home turf."

Verstappen's Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez, qualified fifth.

Verstappen's Q3 lap time was over one-half a second quicker than the second place qualifier, McLaren's standout rookie driver, Oscar Piastri. Piastri just signed a three year extension to his contract with McLaren this week. Piastri has never driven on the Suzuka International Racing Course.

Piastri's teammate, Lando Norris, qualified third, delivering an outstanding Saturday for the Woking, UK based team.

"It was a tricky session, it is easy to make little mistakes here and there, so well done to Oscar and Lando for maximising the package," said Andrea Stella, McLaren Team Principal. "We still have more than a half a second deficit to Verstappen, so we need to keep our feet on the ground as it gives us the measure of how much work we still have to do."

"It's been a really good weekend for the team so far, we've got upgrades on the cars and they're quick here," said Piastri. "We thought we might have a decent chance but still had to make it happen. So, happy to be second and for the team to be second and third. Very, very happy."

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who had top 5 lap times in all three practice sessions, qualified P4. Leclerc's teammate, Carlos Sainz, will start sixth on the grid on Sunday for the Japanese Grand Prix.

"I'm happy with my lap, because it was the maximum we could have done today. We lost the most in sector 1, so we will look into that and try to understand what we can work on to improve," said Leclerc.

Leclerc's Ferrari teammate and last weekend's Grand Prix winner, Carlos Sainz, qualified sixth.

The Silver Arrows of Mercedes drivers George Hamilton and Lewis Hamilton qualified P7 and P8, respectively. Hamilton has never qualified below eighth place at Suzuka.

Yuki Tsunoda who is having a good weekend at his home track qualified 9th to the delight of the crowd. Tsunoda just announced his contract with AlphaTauri will be extended through 2024.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 10.

Pos	Driver		Team		Time		Gap

1	Verstappen	Red Bull	1:28.877	146.160 mph
2	Piastri		McLaren		1:29.458	0.581
3	Norris		McLaren		1:29.493	0.616
4	Leclerc		Ferrari		1:29.542	0.665
5	Perez		Red Bull	1:29.650	0.773
6	Sainz		Ferrari		1:29.850	0.973
7	Hamilton	Mercedes	1:29.908	1.031
8	Russell		Mercedes	1:30.219	1.342
9	Tsunoda		AlphaTauri	1:30.303	1.426
10	Alonso		Aston Martin	1:30.560	1.683
11	Lawson		AlphaTauri	1:30.508	
12	Gasly		Alpine		1:30.509	
13	Albon		Williams	1:30.537	
14	Ocon		Alpine		1:30.586	
15	Magnussen	Haas		1:30.665	
16	Bottas		Alfa Romeo	1:31.049	
17	Stroll		Aston Martin	1:31.181	
18	Hulkenberg	Haas		1:31.299	
19	Zhou		Alfa Romeo	1:31.398	
20	Sargeant	Williams	No Time

(image provided by Aston Martin F1 Media)