Max Verstappen takes pole for Chinese GP to extend F1 dominance. Hamilton 18th
Max Verstappen of Red Bull has completed a Formula 1 double, taking the pole Saturday for the Chinese Grand Prix just hours after winning the first F1 sprint of the season.
Teammate Sergio Perez will start alongside Verstappen on Sunday on the front row with Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Lando Norris of McLaren on the second row. Verstappen turned 1 minute 33.660 seconds on his fastest lap, 0.322 ahead of Perez.
Superlatives fail. The three-time defending F1 champion is unassailable — the sport's best driver in the quickest car. The Dutchman has won 22 of the last 26 GPs and three of the first four this season. Only a brake failure in Melbourne, Australia, probably kept him from sweeping all four races.
Look for more of the same on Sunday.
“If the car is even only half as good as what it was in the sprint then I think we'll be all right," Verstappen said.
This season he's won every pole, and his start from that spot on Sunday will be the 37th of his career — it's the 100th pole for Red Bull as a team — as he chases his 58th victory.
«Of course, that's an incredible achievement for the whole team,» Verstappen said.
“From my side, it's been a really good start to the year," he added in understatement. “I feel very confident in qualifying compared to last year. Just a shame of course that we retired in Melbourne, otherwise I think we could have had already a very strong lead.”
Alonso, who won season titles in 2005 and 2006, is still going strong. He turns 43 this summer, just signed a contract extension
