MAX VERSTAPPEN bounced back from his early exit in Oz to take pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix while Lewis Hamilton was encouraged by Mercedes’ progress.

The Red Bull ace was quickest at Suzuka and edged out his team-mate Sergio Perez and McLaren’s Lando Norris, who were second and third respectively.

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Lewis Hamilton was encouraged by Mercedes progress as he out-qualified George Russell for the first time this seasonCredit: Getty

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Max Verstappen claimed pole in JapanCredit: Getty

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Hamilton said the car was ‘enjoyable driving’Credit: Reuters
Verstappen, 26, had dominated qualifying but a late surge from Perez saw him close the gap to within 0.066 seconds.

Hamilton qualified in seventh – the first time he has outdone team-mate George Russell this season – but said he was still encouraged by his team’s progress after telling them not to “eff it up”.

He said: “I was giving it everything.

“The team did a really great job this past week making adjustments to our set-up – this is actually the first weekend I’ve not gone crazy with set-up and am not testing a bunch of things, so I’m back to a bit more normal.

“I think we’ve got the car into a much nicer working window and so it’s been really enjoyable driving, it’s just the guys are just a little bit faster.

“We were a second or just over a second off last year to the Red Bull and seven tenths is better.

“Maybe if we had done something a little bit different maybe we could have been another tenth faster, maybe, but other than that that was everything.”

Meanwhile, Verstappen – who retired in Melbourne with brake failure – said: “It was quite close at the end. Overall, this track is very sensitive with the tyres.

“The tarmac is really aggressive and when you want to go to the limit it doesn’t always work out.

“Nevertheless, most importantly it’s to be on pole. Of course you want every lap to be perfect but around a track like this, it’s not always the case.
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“Overall, a very good day and a good starting position for tomorrow and tomorrow is what counts.

“It’s great as a team to be P1 and P2. Hopefully we can keep that going for tomorrow.”

Perez added: “It was close, really close with Max. It felt like a good lap.

“It was quite tricky out there actually, especially closing out the laps.

“It was quite easy to lose a couple of tenths into the last section and into the chicane, so we hooked it all together. Unfortunately it was not quite enough.”

Russell was down in ninth place and added: “It’s just so tight out there between ourselves, McLaren, Aston Martin and Ferrari.

“If you nail that lap, you will be at the front of that pack, if you don’t, you will be at the back.

“I think it will be a good race. If you do a good job and nail it, you will jump three, four, five positions and compared to last year that would be one position.”

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