The Dutch driver took pole position at the end of Saturday’s qualifying session, but is under investigation and could be penalized.
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Max Verstappen finds the peaks of the grid. The Red Bull driver set the fastest time on the Suzuka circuit to clinch pole position in the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday 8 October. He will start at the head of the peloton on Sunday, where he can already be crowned world champion. He is ahead of the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, by a handful of thousandths.
MAX ON POLE IN SUZUKA!@Max33Verstappen takes his first pole in Japan, just 0.010s ahead of Leclerc!#JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/ENOZ9HZRk2
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 8, 2022
Faster throughout qualifying, already in the lead at the end of Q2, the Dutchman slammed the fastest time on his first attempt in Q3. But he was summoned to the marshals for dangerous driving on the track in front of Lando Norris (McLaren), and could be penalized.
Behind him, Leclerc and Sainz skated on their last lap and failed to improve to pass him. They fail respectively at 10 and 57 thousandths from the leader in the world championship. Sergio Pérez’s second Red Bull completes the second row, in 4th place.
The Alpine single-seaters have confirmed their good form since the start of the weekend. Back in Q3 after two quick eliminations in Singapore and Italy, Esteban Ocon set the fifth fastest time, ahead of Mercedes, for whom qualifying was disappointing. Fernando Alonso will start right into his exhaust, from 7th position on the grid.
Qualification was less fortunate for the future driver of the French team, Pierre Gasly, eliminated in Q1 after a misunderstanding of his team’s exit strategy. He will start from 18th place.