McLaren as “best of the rest”
Ferrari star is stunned at Red Bull’s qualifying show
April 6, 2024, 9:03 a.m
In qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull sent an announcement to the competition: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez confidently secured the front row of the grid. McLaren driver Lando Norris is “best of the rest”, while Charles Leclerc is puzzled as to why he is so far behind in his Ferrari.
Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen is starting the Japanese Grand Prix from first place for the third year in a row. Pole position for the race on Sunday (7 a.m./Sky and in the live ticker at ntv.de) In Suzuka, the 26-year-old Dutchman secured victory 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 position of his career and the fourth in a row this season.
Carlos Sainz, who drove his Ferrari to victory in Australia two weeks ago, came fourth. His teammate Charles Leclerc, however, only ended up in eighth place, radioing to the pits in disbelief that he didn’t understand why he had so little chance. Lewis Hamilton in seventh and George Russell in ninth were also unable to keep up with the leaders in their Mercedes.
Nico Hülkenberg, the only German driver in the field this year, drove his Haas racing car to twelfth place. The 36-year-old from the Rhineland narrowly missed the final qualifying round of the top ten.
Before the fourth round of the season on Sunday, 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.
