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Max Verstappen climbs into his Red Bull for qualifying in Japan
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Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen is starting the Japanese Grand Prix from first place on the grid for the third year in a row. The 26-year-old Dutchman secured pole position for the race on Sunday (7 a.m., TV: Sky) in Suzuka on Saturday with a time of 1:28.197 minutes. 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 of his career and the fourth in a row this season.
“It was pretty close in the end,” said Verstappen about his mini lead of 66 thousandths of a second: “This track is very sensitive when it comes to the tires. The asphalt is very aggressive. When you push the limit, things don’t always work,” he said.
Leclerc disappoints, Hülkenberg narrowly misses the top ten
The recently strong Ferrari had no chance, Australian winner Carlos Sainz ended up in fourth place. His teammate Charles Leclerc disappointed in eighth place. Lewis Hamilton in seventh and George Russell in ninth were also unable to keep up with the leaders in their Mercedes. Nico Hülkenberg in the Haas took a good starting position of twelfth, having narrowly missed the last qualifying round of the top ten.
Before the fourth round of the season, Verstappen leads the championship standings with 51 points, just ahead of 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.
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