- Dutchman produces blistering lap to pip Leclerc to pole
- Red Bull driver investigated for incident involving Norris
Max Verstappen took pole for the Japanese Grand Prix with a superb lap of Suzuka. The Red Bull driver beat the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc into second with his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz in third. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were in sixth and eighth for Mercedes, with Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez in fourth and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in fifth.
Ferrari and Red Bull had looked evenly matched over the weekend and it was Leclerc who was quickest on the first hot runs in Q3 only for Verstappen to put in an immense final sector and lead the timesheets by a full two-tenths.