The Red Bull driver bounced back from a disappointing Singapore showing by topping every practice and grabbing pole position at Suzuka, taking top spot in qualifying by a dominant 0.581s.
Verstappen also took aim at Red Bull’s detractors after qualifying, telling them to go “suck on an egg” as he defended his team from recent speculation.
McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were Verstappen’s nearest challengers, with the Australian taking his best qualifying result of his rookie season in second ahead of his team-mate.
But both McLaren drivers already expect a tall order to battle Verstappen for Japanese GP victory, as Norris quipped it needs Piastri to emulate the Ayrton Senna vs Alain Prost from 1990 at Suzuka to stand a chance.
Behind the front three, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc beat Sergio Perez to the second row, with Italy and Singapore polesitter Carlos Sainz in sixth ahead of the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Home favourite Yuki Tsunoda took an impressive ninth for AlphaTauri in qualifying, as Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 10.
The 16th round of the 2023 F1 season, the Japanese GP at the Suzuka circuit, gets under way at 2:00pm local time (6:00am BST) on Sunday 24 September.
Source: Autosport