Max Verstappen roars back in Japanese Grand Prix qualifying to take pole, Lewis Hamilton in seventh at Suzuka Circuit

Max Verstappen claimed pole position with another stunning display at the Japanese Grand Prix.

It was the 29th pole of Verstappen's career and the ninth so far this season, as Red Bull re-established their dominance after an uncharacteristic display in Singapore a week ago, where Verstappen finished fifth.

The reigning champion finished a huge 0.581 seconds ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri, and 0.616 seconds ahead of Lando Norris in third.

"Incredible weekend so far and especially in qualifying when you can really push it to the limit, the car felt really nice," Verstappen said in quotes published by the BBC.

"We had a bad weekend in Singapore but I already felt from the preparation we had that this was going to be a good track.

"You never know how good it is going to be but from lap one it has felt really nice and to be on pole is fantastic."

Piastri's second place was his best qualifying result of the season to finish above McLaren team-mate Norris, while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished fourth.

Speaking after his second-place finish, he added: "It has been a really good weekend for the team so far. We have some upgrades on the car, happy to be second and third.

"First time I have started on the front row for a while. It will be cool. Only one car to overtake and I will try to make that happen."

It was not all rosy for Red Bull as Sergio Perez finished fifth and 0.773 seconds behind Red Bull team-mate Verstappen, while Ferrari's Carlos Sainz came sixth.

There were more struggles for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell taking seventh and eighth respectively to start the race in the fourth row of the grid.

The top 10 was completed by home favourite and AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, while it was a dismal day for Logan Sargeant in the Williams car.

The American will start in last position for Sunday's race after crashing into the barriers on the final corner at turn 18 and receiving a red flag.

It did a huge amount of damage to the left-hand side of the car, with the front left-hand tyre taken clean off.

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