Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won this Saturday the pole position for the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix, the 18th race of the season, which could already give him the world title in case of victory and the fastest lap of the race.
Verstappen set his best lap in the first attempt of the final qualifying round, Q3, with a time of 1.29.304 minutes, beating Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) by just 0.010 seconds, the shortest qualifying gap this season .
Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) was third, 0.057 seconds behind Verstappen.
“I am very happy to be in pole“, stressed the reigning world champion.
The race can have rain and shuffle the accounts.
“It will be interesting to see how the weather behaves. But I am confident because we have a good car,” Verstappen said at the end of the session.
This was the sixth pole of the season for the 25-year-old Dutchman, 18th in his career.
The Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull), the other contender for the title, along with Verstappen and Leclerc, starts from fourth position on the grid.
With 341 points, 104 more than Leclerc and 106 than Pérez, Verstappen needs to win and set the fastest lap in the race (which is worth an extra point) so as not to depend on what his rivals do and celebrate his second championship with four races to go. seasonal.
Already this morning, the Dutchman had been fastest in the third free practice session, after the two Mercedes had dominated the first two sessions on Friday, held in the wet.
The Japanese GP is the 18th of 22 races of the season.
Source: TSF
