The Japanese Grand Prix: Interesting statistics

      Some interesting statistics on the results of the Japanese Grand Prix…

      Qualification

      After qualifying in Japan, Max Verstappen took the 41st pole of his career and the fourth in a row in Suzuka. Only Sebastian Vettel (5) and Michael Schumacher (8) have more poles on the Japanese track.

      The Dutchman's pole of 1:26.983 was the fastest in Suzuki's history. The previous record was held by Sebastian Vettel, who won qualifying at this track in 2019 with a time of 1:27.064.

      For the first time in his career, Lando Norris qualified second in Suzuka. Second place in qualifying is a rare result in the British career – in 130 Grands Prix he started second only six times.

      Oscar Piastri qualified third and for the first time in the season did not start from the front row.

      Charles Leclair qualified for Suzuka for the 150th time in his career. Monegasque started in the top four for the first time since last year's Las Vegas Grand Prix.

      George Russell qualified fifth, his worst result of the season, but his best on this circuit.

      Andrea Kimi Antonelli's sixth place is his best career result.

      Isaac Hajjar qualified seventh, repeating his best career result and the best Racing Bulls result in Suzuka since 2018.

      Eighth place is Lewis Hamilton's worst starting position in Suzuka since 2012.

      Alex Elbon's ninth place is Williams' best starting position at Suzuka since 2017, when Felipe Massa started eighth.

      By qualifying tenth, Oliver Berman repeated the best result of his career and the best Haas F1 start in Suzuka since 2019.

      Qualifying 15th, Yuki Tsunoda achieved the best result for the second Red Bull Racing car this season, and for the first time in the season he did not qualify for the finals.

      Having qualified 16th, Nico Hulkenberg dropped out of the competition for the second time in three Grands Prix in the first part of qualifying.

      Race

      By winning the Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen scored his 64th career victory and fourth in a row at Suzuka. Since 2019, he has been second to none on this circuit.

      Red Bull Racing became the first team to win eight times in Suzuka, ahead of McLaren and Ferrari (seven wins each).

      Lando Norris finished second and retained the lead in the individual standings with a one-point advantage over Verstappen. Norris has not finished below second place in the Grand Prix this season.

      By finishing third, Oscar Piastri increased the number of McLaren podiums in Suzuka to 26 – no other team achieved any more (Ferrari is on the second line with 22 podiums). Piastri scored points for the 29th consecutive race weekend, the longest current scoring streak. His teammate Norris has 28 successful races in a row.

      Piastri became the seventh person in history to reach the podium on his birthday (after Chris Eamon, Jose Carlus Pace, James Hunt, Carlos Roiteman, Jean Alesi and Rubens Barrichello).

      After the 150th start of his career, Charles Leclair, in a Ferrari, finished fourth in Suzuka for the third year in a row. This is Ferrari's best result of the current season.

      George Russell's fifth place is his best career result in Suzuka.

      His team-mate Kimi Antonelli finished sixth, becoming the youngest driver ever to lead a Grand Prix (18 years, 7 months and 12 days). He was three days ahead of Max Verstappen, who was the leader in Spain in ’16 at the age of 18 years, 7 months and 15 days.

      Antonelli became the youngest rider to complete the best lap of the race at the age of 18 years, 7 months and 12 days.

      Lewis Hamilton's seventh place is his best Grand Prix result since joining Ferrari. At the same time, he became the only driver from the top ten who managed to rise to one position during the Grand Prix.

      Finishing eighth, Isaac Hajjar earned his first points in Formula 1.

      Fernando Alonso reached the finish line for the first time this year, but did not earn any points, finishing the race 11th.

      For the fifth time since the beginning of last season and the third time in Suzuki's history (as it was in 2015 and 2016), all those who started the race were classified.