The Latest Breaking News from Lando Norris

Verstappen looked to have the measure of the field throughout qualifying, bouncing back from a Q2 elimination in Singapore to take pole by around six tenths from McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

The championship leader routed the rest of the field with his initial 1m29.012s, which would have been good enough for pole on its own, but a second lap yielded further improvements and he found over a tenth to secure a 1m28.877s.

The championship leader routed the rest of the field with his initial 1m29.012s, which would have been good enough for pole on its own, but a second lap yielded further improvements and he found over a tenth to secure a 1m28.877s.

Verstappen will start ahead of the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in Sunday’s race after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.

A slow-burning session, which featured no track action for the opening five minutes, ended with a series of qualifying simulations in which Verstappen set a 1m30.267s lap to eclipse the two McLarens - which had found performance relative to the Red Bull driver overnight.

A slow-burning session, which featured no track action for the opening five minutes, ended with a series of qualifying simulations in which Verstappen set a 1m30.267s lap to eclipse the two McLarens - which had found performance relative to the Red Bull driver overnight.

Max Verstappen set fastest times in both practice sessions for Japanese GP, looking to clinch 3rd-straight F1 title. Red Bull's Verstappen 0.320sec quicker than Leclerc in 2nd practice. Verstappen leads Perez in championship standings, looking to bounce back from 5th-place finish in Singapore.

Max Verstappen's headline times in both of Friday's Formula 1 practice sessions at the Japanese Grand Prix proved that Red Bull's misfortune in Singapore was a mere blip.

Verstappen led both of Friday's free practice sessions for the Japanese Grand Prix, ending the day 0.320 seconds clear of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and nearly half a second up on McLaren's Lando Norris.

The Dutchman punched in a 1m30.688s to stand atop the timing boards, having been bumped off the top following his opening run on soft tyres as the rest of the front-running pack waited until later in the session to clock their first times on softs.

The Dutchman punched in a 1m30.688s to stand atop the timing boards, having been bumped off the top following his opening run on soft tyres as the rest of the front-running pack waited until later to clock their first times on softs.