F1 LIVE | Qualifying for the Japanese GP: Will Ferrari and Mercedes beat McLaren?

With the three practice sessions now in the rearview mirror, it is now time for the first relevant session of the weekend: Who will get pole at Suzuka? Find out now: it's qualifying for the F1 Japanese Grand Prix.

Qualifying for the Japanese Grand prix

McLaren's MCL39 is the strongest overall car, so it is expected they take pole ahead of Sunday's race.

Ferrari drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are currently busy trying to extract the SF-25's hidden potential as they look to challenge McLaren, a tall order it seems, at the moment, particularly in qualifying as the Scuderia are leaving lap time on the table since they can't bring their tyres up to the optimum window to be a contender on one lap pace.

Mercedes, with George Russell as the tip of the spear, looks to continue onward with his podium streak, and maybe this time gain one spot - or two - above his previous consecutive P3's in Australia and China. An achieveable feat no doubt, as the Briton is one of the grid's top performers at the moment, both on Saturdays as well as Sundays.

Red Bull are still trying to get their affairs in order as the team has clearly started their 2025 campaign on the backfoot, with Max Verstappen being the team's sole points scorer to date since the Las Vegas Grand Prix last year. Something, new Red Bull driver, Yuki Tsunoda, is hoping he can overturn.

With Liam Lawson's benchmark of three Q1 exits, the Japanese driver has nowhere to go but up and his first outings in the RB21 have shown much promise.

Find out who will line up where on the grid for tomorrow's race, here! It's Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.

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