Watch: Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso's stunned real-time reaction to Max Verstappen's pole position lap at the F1 Japanese GP

Williams F1 driver Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso were left stunned after watching Red Bull driver Max Verstappen's pole position lap in the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix qualifying session. The Dutch driver did not look comfortable in his RB21 and was always trailing the two McLarens and Mercedes of George Russell over one lap.

However, on his final run of the Q3 session, the four-time F1 world champion hooked up all three sectors of the lap, despite not being the fastest car in any of them, to finish ahead of the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

At the chequered flag, Verstappen was a mere 0.012s ahead of championship leader Norris and 0.044s ahead of Piastri in P3.

In a clip shared by Spanish broadcaster DAZN, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz keenly followed Max Verstappen's final lap and were visibly stunned by his pole position.

Speaking with ViaPlay, Fernando Alonso was full of praise for the Dutch driver and said:

“Only he can do it, only he can do it. I think there is no other driver at the moment that can drive a car and put it so high, or higher than the car deserves. I think it was a magical moment for everyone here.” (as quoted by Motorsport).

Fernando Alonso had finished the session in P13 but will move up a slot for the main race as Carlos Sainz was given a three-place penalty for impeding Lewis Hamilton at the end of the Q2 session, demoting the 30-year-old to P15.

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Red Bull team boss sings praise of Max Verstappen's pole lap in Japan

Red Bull driver team principal Christian Horner said that Max Verstappen's pole lap at the Suzuka International Circuit on Saturday was "one of the best of his career" given the car disadvantage to the McLarens.

Speaking with Sky Sports F1, the 51-year-old Horner hailed the performance of the Dutchman's engineering team and said:

“Unbelievable. We did not expect that and, about Max, what can you say? Just an outstanding lap. He’s extracted every ounce of performance. He and his engineering team were working on the preparation and getting his tires in exactly the right window, and I think he’s got the most out of it today."

“Getting that pole position was completely against the run of form that we’ve been seeing. A massive result for him and a big lift for the team. With Max, he left nothing on the table. That was one of his best laps in Qualifying ever.”

Max Verstappen became only the third driver to claim four successive pole positions in Suzuka after Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.

On Sunday, he would look to win the race for the fourth year in a row and claim his first victory of the 2025 season.