Marko admits Red Bull 'never expected' Verstappen's Suzuka pole

Helmut Marko admitted he was surprised to see Red Bull on pole for the Japanese Grand Prix, especially given McLaren’s strong form throughout the weekend. Still, Max Verstappen once again rose to the occasion, delivering a lap that outpaced both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

From multiple angles, there is high praise for Max Verstappen's unexpected pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix.

"To be honest, we never expected this," he said at the Suzuka circuit to ORF. "We completely overhauled the car after the last practice. In the end, an incredible lap emerged in the qualification... only Max can do this."

Risks at Red Bull

According to the advisor of the Austrian racing team, some actions had to be taken to outsmart the McLarens, who they believed to be faster. "We were not competitive, so we took some risks. Fortunately, everything turned out well and we are heading in the right direction.

"In the practice sessions, we were at least half a second slower, but we simply didn't know what was going wrong. The car was hardly responding anywhere, or in a completely different way than expected. However, suddenly in the qualification, everything worked out," Marko concluded.

Max Verstappen will lead the field from pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix, with Lando Norris lining up alongside him on the front row. Behind them, Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc occupy the second row, setting the stage for a thrilling battle at Suzuka.

However, things look far less promising for Yuki Tsunoda, who starts down in 15th place. Despite being promoted to Red Bull ahead of the Japan weekend, Tsunoda’s qualifying performance was underwhelming, but Christian Horner has full faith in the home hero, who is learning to feel comfortable in the Red Bull car.

You can follow all the action for the remainder of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend here on GPblog.

This article was written in collaboration with Marnik Kok

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