Kimi Antonelli claimed pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix with a 1m29.362s to lead a Mercedes front row ahead of George Russell at Suzuka.
Oscar Piastri continued his strong form in Japan to qualify third for McLaren, while Charles Leclerc led Ferrari’s charge in fourth, splitting the McLarens with Lando Norris fifth and Lewis Hamilton sixth.
Pierre Gasly impressed in seventh for Alpine, with Isack Hadjar eighth for Red Bull Racing, as Audi returned to the top 10 with Gabriel Bortoleto ninth and Arvid Lindblad rounding out the order.
Max Verstappen was the shock elimination of qualifying, knocked out in Q2 and set to start 11th after falling short of the cut-off time in the closing moments.
The Japanese Grand Prix starts at 2pm Sunday (4pm AEDT).
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
| 1 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:30.035 | 1:29.048 | 1:28.778 | 15 |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:29.967 | 1:29.686 | 1:29.076 | 21 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:30.200 | 1:29.451 | 1:29.132 | 20 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:29.915 | 1:29.303 | 1:29.405 | 18 |
| 5 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:30.401 | 1:29.795 | 1:29.409 | 20 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:30.309 | 1:29.589 | 1:29.567 | 20 |
| 7 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:30.584 | 1:29.874 | 1:29.691 | 18 |
| 8 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull Racing | 1:30.662 | 1:30.104 | 1:29.978 | 17 |
| 9 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1:30.359 | 1:29.990 | 1:30.274 | 20 |
| 10 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:30.781 | 1:30.109 | 1:30.319 | 21 |
| 11 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:30.519 | 1:30.262 | 12 | |
| 12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas F1 Team | 1:30.915 | 1:30.309 | 15 | |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 1:30.358 | 1:30.387 | 14 | |
| 14 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:30.657 | 1:30.495 | 15 | |
| 15 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:30.931 | 1:30.627 | 12 | |
| 16 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:30.927 | 1:31.033 | 15 | |
| 17 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:31.088 | 9 | ||
| 18 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 1:31.090 | 9 | ||
| 19 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | 1:32.206 | 6 | ||
| 20 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 1:32.330 | 9 | ||
| 21 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:32.646 | 9 | ||
| 22 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:32.920 | 9 |
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