Replays have showed the moment that Verstappen stopped at the end of the pitlane, holding up the Mercedes cars and Leclerc, who voiced their displeasure over the radio. Radio messages between the pitlane and Verstappen don't shed much light on the nature of any potential issue.
News that Alfa Romeo will retain Guanyu Zhou for a third year alongside Valtteri Bottas means there's no space at the inn for Formula 2 points leader Theo Pourchaire next year. But the Sauber-run team is evaluating Formula 1 testing options for the Frenchman, who is expected to seal the title at its next round in Abu Dhabi with a 25-point margin over Mercedes junior Fred Vesti: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/alfa-evaluating-plan-to-get-pourchaire-into-f1/10520904/
Impeding is going to be a theme of the day. The stewards now report that an incident involving several cars in Turns 16 to 19 will be investigated after the session. No idea who the affected cars are at this stage.
Fair play to Liam Lawson, who made it through Q1 in fourth. That's two Q2 appearances in three races for the Kiwi - and you can hardly hold his Q1 exit in Zandvoort against him given he'd not done any of Friday's practice. By comparison, Nyck de Vries managed just four Q2 appearances in 10 outings with the team.
Just 0.677s covered first to 15th in a tight Q1. How much more pace the drivers we expect to contend for pole have in their lockers we will have to wait and see.
Several drivers have remained in their cars with the dry ice on overdrive. The heat remains an oppressive 29.5 °C, while humidity has climbed up to 77%.
The FIA states a lengthy recovery period is anticipated given fluid has spilled on the track surface, while barrier checks and possible repairs are required. We'll keep you updated as things develop.
Replays from Norris's onboard show he had a fair bit of weaving to do to make it through the debris field. Mechanics will be making sure any drivers who had to pass the wrecked Aston didn't pick up any shards in places they aren't wanted.
The timing of the red flag with many of the top runners unable to complete their final runs contributed to a topsy-turvy 2005 Japanese GP look to the Q1 order, with Tsunoda top ahead of Perez, Hulkenberg, Lawson and Magnussen. A good session for the underdogs.
Stroll was at the bottom of the timesheets and looking to emulate others making a huge improvement at the time of his crash. That locks him into a Q1 exit, although his car would hardly have been in a fit state to contest Q2 in any case. A big rebuild ahead for Aston coming up before tomorrow's race.
That was a truly violent hit for Stroll, his car shedding wheels across the road. Norris does well to avoid a wheel traversing the road in front of him. Stroll is now out of the car, thankfully.
The Aston Martin had a huge wobble over the kerb at the final corner which spat Stroll into the Tec-Pro barriers on the outside of the circuit. It's a big impact, but fortunately the Canadian messages over the radio to inform his team that he's okay.
The two currently on the bubble are Haas drivers Magnussen and Hulkenberg. A 1m32.5 is anticipated to be the cutoff for Q2 progression, with a 0.6s track improvement expected, Hulkenberg is informed by engineer Gary Gannon.
Lots of drivers are improving now, as Alonso's first effort puts him solidly into the top 10. Verstappen has gone quickest on a 1m32.398s, but Sainz then goes faster again on a 1m32.339s to surge into the top spot. Leclerc can only improve to third on a 1m32.406s.
