F1 Japanese Grand Prix LIVE: Stream, TV channel as Verstappen takes POLE despite enquiry and closes on championship win

Latifi explains bizarre moment

Nicolas Latifi has clarified what happened in the Japanese GP practice session where he seemed to take a wrong turning on the track.

The Williams driver said down the radio when it happened: “Not sure what happened there. The car, real strange, anyways, I’m OK.”

He was asked what happened explaining it was his error going the wrong way but said there was a delay on the team radio that made it look like he made a poor excuse.

“The radio was a bit delayed from what was shown on TV when I was saying it was a bit strange there.

“It was totally my fault, but I was getting some calls from my engineer.

“We were supposed to do another lap, but then we got a last-minute call to box, so I was changing something on my steering wheel, I was looking down, and when I looked up, I saw the turn which is obviously not the right turn.”

Favourites depart

Next season it looks like Formula One fans will be without Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel.

The German is retiring and the McLaren driver is set to be without a team.

The pair were teammates at Red Bull in the 2014 season.

Ricciardo snubbed for 2023

Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he is unlikely to be on the grid for the 2023 season.

He said: “I think the reality is now I won’t be on the grid in 2023.”

The Aussie is a fan’s favourite but his deal at McLaren is set to expire at the end of this year and his contract is not going to be renewed.

Norris lacked respect, says Verstappen

Max Verstappen accused Lando Norris of showing him a lack of “respect” as the two had a narrow escape in qualifying for the Japanese GP.

The flashpoint happened when Verstappen slowed down on the racing line before lighting up his tyres with a wheelspin.

But Norris, who was already up to speed, was forced to take evasive action, running wide and onto the grass.

It earned Verstappen no more than a ticking off from the stewards yet he was adamant it would never have happened if Norris showed him more courtesy.

He said: “We were on our out lap and we were all lining up to create a gap to everyone and then somehow he still wanted to get me into the chicane.

“I was on the point of accelerating and I was on very cold tyres, so I had a little moment and that’s why he had to drive around me.

“But if he had just a bit more respect for me, because everyone is anyway lining up and I don’t think anyone is trying to pass into that last chicane, so by trying to pass me you create that kind of thing.”

Grid confirmation

After the closest qualifying session of the year, here’s the final grid for tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Herbert’s surprise at Stewards’ call

Sky Sports F1 pundit Johnny Herbert says he was “surprised” by a decision to only reprimand Max Verstappen over a dangerous incident in qualifying with Lando Norris.

The Stewards’ report concluded tyre pressure caused Verstappen to swerve into the path of Norris and therefore he would not face a grid penalty after claiming pole for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Herbert told Sky Sports: “I’m surprised there’s not a little bit more given the danger element that could have come into play and it was very close anyway.”

Tyre pressure caused Norris incident

The Stewards’ report into the dangerous incident involving Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in Japanese Grad Prix qualifying concluded in was due to a mechincal failure.

Red Bull star Verstappen turned slightly to his left while at a crawl, causing McLaren’s Norris to have to swerve to avoid him as he raced through from behind him on the track.

The report said that lack of tyre temperature meant Verstappen temporarily lost control of his car and it ‘snapped’ anti-clockwise.

Verstappen’ pole survives stewards’ enquiry

Max Verstappen will keep pole position for tomorrow’s Grand Prix after a decision from The Stewards.

The Red Bull ace has been reprimanded for an incident involving McLaren’s Lando Norris but has not been given a grid penalty.

Verstappen takes pole

Leclerc comes up short on his final lap. He is unable to beat the Dutchman.

It is Verstappen, Leclerc, Sainz, Perez, Ocon, Hamilton, Alonso, Russell, Vettel and Norris.

BUT…Verstappen is due in to see the stewards for that near miss with Norris.

Remember too, he can win the title tomorrow if results go his way.

Near miss for Norris

The McLaren man almost gets clattered by Verstappen, who loses control of his Red Bull at slow speed.

Verstappen takes provisional pole

The Red Bull man sets the quickest time on his first run.

Q3 is go

Here we go, shootout for the top 10. This is looking like a three-way fight for pole. Verstappen – Sainz and Leclerc.

All eyes on Ferrari

Can they stop Verstappen from taking pole? They look like the only team capable of taking the fight to Red Bull.

Tight finish to Q2 – Russell escapes, but only just

He is in to seventh but Ricciardo is out. The Aussie is joined by Schumacher, Zhou, Bottas and Tsunoda.

Halfway in to Q2

Verstappen leads Sainz and Leclerc. In the drop zone are Tsunoda, Schumacher, Zhou, Vettel and Norris.

It is looking close in the middle between Alonso, Perez and Russell.

Q2 is go

We lost Gasly, Latifi, Stroll, Magnussen and Albon in Q1.

Gasly is furious

He is out in Q1 and not happy. News coming out this morning that he has now agreed to join Alpine for 2023.

Hamilton and Russell recover

They currently sit in P8 and P6 and that should be safe enough. In the drop zone are Albon, Latifi, Vettel, Magnussen and Zhou.

Hamilton and Russell in trouble?

The two Mercedes men are languishing in the time sheets. Both are on the slower medium tyres. Will they have enough to get in to Q2?

Meanwhile, BOTH AlphaTauri drivers have brake problems and are in the pits.

Qualifying is go in Japan

And it is fitting that Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda sets the early pace for AlphaTauri.

But here come the bigger teams. Verstappen is on a flying lap that is looking mighty impressive.

What Max Verstappen has said

Max Verstappen will be aware of how close he is from securing a second successive championship.

But the iconic F1 racer realises that he has a tough task at the Japanese GP with the ever-changing weather conditions.

Luckily it wasn’t a complete disaster with the weather at least we could get around and do a little bit of stuff. In terms of knowing where you are with pace, in the wet, it’s always a bit tricky.

We did the basic things (to learn) and not more than that so that’s why I’m looking forward to tomorrow to see how we can be in the dry.

How Verstappen can win the title 

Verstappen has one hand on the F1 title and he can incredibly clinch it without finishing first. 

But it would require him scoring a minimum of eight points more than Leclerc and a minimum of six more than Perez.

If the Red Bull racer was to finish second, Leclerc would have to rank fifth or higher to keep the title alive.

Verstappen finishing third with the fastest lap bonus point will mean Leclerc having to chart fifth or higher or Perez needs to finish a minimum of fourth to deny him.

But a third place finish without the bonus point means sixth place for Leclerc or fourth place for Perez would be enough for the title race to go beyond the weekend.

Fourth for Verstappen would see Leclerc needing only seventh place and fifth means that Leclerc just needs to avoid falling below eighth on the leaderboards to survive another day.

Crash but no burn

Here is the major talking point of the Practice sessions. Thankfully Mick Schumacher escaped the car with no injuries.

But my guess is that Haas will need to supply him with a new car. 

Current F1 standings

Here are the current top ten in the 2022 standings:

1. Max Verstappen – 341 points
2. Charles Leclerc – 237 points
3. Sergio Perez – 235 points
4. George Russell – 203 points
5. Carlos Sainz – 202 points
6. Lewis Hamilton – 170 points
7. Lando Norris – 100 points
8. Esteban Ocon – 66 points
9. Fernando Alonso – 59 points
10. Valterri Bottas – 46 points