Verstappen takes pole for Sunday's F1 Japanese Grand Prix ahead of Norris and Piastri

SUZUKA, Japan (AP) — Max Verstappen of Red Bull will start from pole position in the Japanese Grand Prix after turning in the top time in qualifying on Saturday in his final attempt.

Lando Norris of McLaren will start alongside on Sunday with teammate Oscar Piastri on the second row with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.

Verstappen claimed the pole on his final lap, setting a lap-record for the Japanese circuit of 1 minute 26.983 seconds. It was his 41st pole.

Verstappen was asked how this ranked among his many accomplishments in F1.

“If you look at how our season started — even during this weekend, yeah it’s very unexpected,” he said, "and I think that makes it, probably, a very special one.”

“It's insane,” he added.

As the time was posted, mechanics in the Red Bull garage jumped, screamed and hugged each other knowing work on the car had paid off.

Verstappen gave some credit to the track itself at Suzuka in central Japan, and credit to the recent resurfacing of the circuit.

“When I enjoy the track it’s even more fun to drive," he said. “It was crazy fast.”

He then added: “For us, it’s a great little surprise.”

Norris and Piastri have won the first two races with McLaren threatening to run away with the season — the way Red Bull has in the last four campaigns.

Norris seemed a bit in awe of Verstappen's lap.

“Congrats to Max,” he said. “He did a good job. It's a hats off. You have to credit something when it's that good.”

Piastri said he “got everything out of the car today” and also gave a nod to Verstappen.

“Max is going to put up a good fight,” he said in understatement, reminding the weather forecast looks difficult. That means rain is predicted, which changes the equation.

George Russell took fifth and Mercedes teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli will start sixth.

Verstappen's pole position could also set him up to win his fourth straight race in Japan.

With rain expected for Sunday, the advantage could go to Verstappen who is regarded as the best in F1 in the wet.

It's also a chance for Verstappen to break out of a tiny slump. Despite being a four-time defending champion, he has only won two of his last 16 races. Even this weekend he has been put in the shadows by the widely covered driver swap at Red Bull.

Verstappen has won 63 F1 races. Only Lewis Hamilton with 105 and Michael Schumacher with 91 have won more.

Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda was promoted to Red Bull last week, and Liam Lawson — who had been No. 2 to Verstappen at Red Bull — was demoted to Red Bull's second team Racing Bulls.

Neither Lawson nor Tsunoda had great qualifying. Lawson finished 14th and Tsunoda was 15th.

“There's some frustration today,” Tsunoda said. “My mindset all weekend has been to enjoy the situation — the car, the team, being at Suzuka, and I felt more calm than usual. But at the same time I felt responsible to perform.”

Hamilton, the seven-time champion, will start from eighth on Sunday as he still tries to settle in at Ferrari.

Norris leads the standings with 44 points. Verstappen is next with 36 points, followed closely by Russell (35) and Piastri (34).

The second of three qualifying sessions was stopped with 8:26 remaining by a small fire in the grass on the fringe of the track.

Officials discussed burning the grass at the edge of track in preparation for Sunday’s race but opted against it because of expected rain. Four small fires broke out in Friday and Saturday's practice sessions, the dry brush set aflame by sparks from passing cars.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing