Verstappen’s new team-mate Yuki Tsunoda could manage only 15th place. The Japanese, drafted in for this race after Red Bull demoted Liam Lawson just two races into the season, was 0.498secs down on Verstappen in the second session, after which he was knocked out.
He told the team over the radio that he had done a “pretty messy” lap.
It was a disappointment for Tsunoda, who had been close behind Verstappen in final practice earlier on Saturday.
Grass fires again caused a problem – the second part of qualifying was stopped for six minutes when the fifth fire of the weekend broke out on the exit of the fast 130R corner.
Officials had doused the grass with water before qualifying in an attempt to prevent any further fires breaking out after four stoppages throughout practice on Friday and Saturday.
They had considered a pre-emptive burning of the grass but decided there was not enough time before qualifying and too big a risk that advertising hoardings could catch fire if it was not properly controlled or monitored.
Rain is forecast overnight and it remain to be seen how Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, will address the issue before the race.
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