Japanese Grand Prix qualifying – F1: Live timing and lap-by-lap updates as Max Verstappen looks to claim fourth consecutive pole position of the season to put Australia car troubles behind Red Bull

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

Russell Jr. has no mouth, which should make radio communications awkward.

To be honest, I’m a little baffled by all of this.

How come the cans don’t tip off his head at that angle? Who does he deliver them to? Did Verstappen and Perez know they would be recreated in miniature to advertise this guy’s fledgling drinks sales?

Henry Clark is Mail Sport’s man on site this weekend.

We’re just a few minutes away from qualifying and he’s posted on X, so make sure you follow him.

Lewis Hamilton is in high spirits this weekend after the uplifting signals from the Silver Arrows.

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

RB handed Ayumu Iwasa a debut at his home GP for the first few practice sessions and he enjoyed the love of his home fans.

The same goes for Yuki Tsunoda, who has received a lot of love from the F1 faithful.

These Prancing Horse fans sure were fun as they donned their favorite hats, but the atmosphere won’t be the same in the team’s garage.

Sky Sports reports that Ferrari is struggling to adapt to the temperatures in Japan and could be fourth fastest in this qualifying behind Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren.

In P3, Carlos Sainz recorded the seventh fastest time and Charles Leclerc could only set a tenth fastest time – worse than RB’s Yuki Tsunoda.

Sky Sports’ Rachel Brookes said: ‘Ferrari is not as fast as we expected this weekend. It appears they are being affected by the warmer temperatures today; everyone expected it to be much cooler.

“It’s about 19 degrees today and this may have taken them a bit by surprise as these warmer temperatures are not working for them at the moment.”

Our reporter Henry Clark is in Japan and has forwarded this analysis of the third practice session… and it’s proving to be quite turbulent for Red Bull!

‘There were a lot of sharp eyes at the third and final training session this morning, after the weather made yesterday’s second training session somewhat damp.

‘Red Bull’s Max Verstappen went fastest on the track, but it did not go smoothly for the Dutchman.

‘He complained about a shaking mirror, while Verstappen also had to take matters into his own hands, literally, when he pressed down a loose piece of tape from his cockpit.

Teammate Sergio Perez was second fastest, despite complaints about driving problems with his car.

“There were further encouraging signs for Mercedes, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton third and fourth fastest respectively.”

Did you know that Oscar Piastri knows a little Japanese?

He may be from Australia, but it turns out he’s quite savvy with the native language at this weekend’s GP.

Back at the Australian GP, ​​Max Verstappen’s car trouble meant he had to give up his nine-race winning streak.

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

None of the Mercedes cars finished. It was a bad start to the season for them. Can they recover this weekend?

Charles Leclerc was furious when he decided to send him out too late for a second flying lap, reducing his time on track.

A rainy second practice session gave the teams little chance to test themselves, so there was even more pressure on a good third session, which Leclerc clearly felt the Scuderia lacked!

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 by 0.269 seconds.

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, 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 starts at 3pm UK time. Grab your popcorn, put on your helmet and do whatever you need to get in the mood for another cracker.