Max Verstappen Grabs Pole Position at the F1 Qatar Grand Prix

Belgian-Dutch driver Max Verstappen took pole position in the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix on Friday evening.

Red Bull's runaway leader of the season took pole position with a blazing 1:23.778sec lap.

He finished ahead of Mercedes' George Russell (+0.441sec) and Lewis Hamilton (+0.527sec).

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Mclaren's Oscar Piastri finished sixth, ahead of Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, while Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas and McLaren's Lando Norris qualified in ninth and 10th positions, respectively.

Verstappen is set to clinch his third consecutive drivers' world title in Saturday's sprint, which will get underway with the shootout at 4:00 pm, followed by sprint at 8:30 pm.

"It's a great start to the weekend and I'm happy to be on pole. It's been a good day for us," Verstappen was quoted as saying.

POLE FOR MAX VERSTAPPEN IN QATAR!!!💪

That's the Dutchman's 10th of the season 👏#F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/DKAeMhIPIA

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 6, 2023