By Darian Lee Crowley
Max Verstappen claimed pole position ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for the all-important championship finale.
Verstappen dominated Q3, setting two pole laps, ending up two tenths ahead of the two McLarens.
Championship leader and favourite Lando Norris managed to outqualify his teammate Oscar Piastri to get on the front row of the grid.
George Russell had looked like disrupting the three championship contenders at the front of the grid, but mistakes on both of his Q3 laps left him P4.
Verstappen’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda managed to help one of his Q3 runs by giving him a slipstream, similar to what Sergio Perez did in 2021.
However, Tsunoda only managed 10th in qualifying, which means it will be difficult for him to help Verstappen disrupt Norris’ championship run.
Verstappen faces a predicament tomorrow of trying to win the race while also stopping Lando Norris from finishing on the podium.
With this grid, Verstappen may have to deploy similar tactics to what Lewis Hamilton did in the 2016 championship finale, when he tried to back his teammate Nico Rosberg in the pack.
Charles Leclerc was P5 for Ferrari, and maybe the driver Verstappen needs to put Norris off the podium along with Russell if McLaren employs team orders on Piastri to help Norris.
Verstappen’s tactics for tomorrow’s race will be fascinating and have got a lot more interesting now that he’s on pole, alongside Norris.
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