formula 1
Verstappen secures pole position in Japan
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen will start from pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix. photo
© Hiro Komae/AP/dpa
Max Verstappen makes no mistakes in Japan. In the fourth qualifying session of the year, the Formula 1 world champion races to pole position in the Red Bull for the fourth time.
Verstappen finished just ahead of his Red Bull teammate Sergio Peréz, who finished second, less than a tenth of a second behind. Third place went to Lando Norris in the McLaren. For Dominator Verstappen it was the 36th pole position of his career and the fourth in a row this season.
Nico Hülkenberg, the only German driver in the field this year, drove his Haas racing car to twelfth place. The 36-year-old from the Rhineland narrowly missed the final qualifying round of the top ten.
Before the fourth round of the season on Sunday (7 a.m./Sky), Verstappen leads the championship standings with 51 points, just ahead of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc (47) and Peréz (46). Verstappen did not finish in the last race in Australia due to a technical defect, but is once again the big favorite in Japan. He had won the Grand Prix in each of the past two years.