Formula One world championship leader Max Verstappen put Red Bull on pole position for the potentially title-deciding Japanese Grand Prix.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, the 25-year-old Dutch driver's closest rival, joined him on the front row after Saturday's qualifying at Suzuka.
The stakes will be high on race day where Verstappen will be world champion for the second time if he beats Leclerc by eight points.
It was Verstappen’s fifth pole of the season. However, that has not been crucial for Verstappen, who has won 11 times this season — often starting from a non-pole position.
Verstappen finished first in qualifying on Saturday with a winning lap time of 1 minute, 29.304 seconds at Suzuka. He was followed by Leclerc, Carlos Sainz of Ferrari, and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.
Verstappen, however, was set to be investigated by the stewards after the session for an incident with Lando Norris in which he appeared to swerve into the speeding McLaren driver's path.
The Briton was forced to drive onto the grass to avoid contact.
"It was incredible to drive here again, of course very happy to be on pole but just super happy to be back here," said Verstappen after taking the 18th pole of his career and fifth this season.
"I lost a bit of my duct on that last lap which is why I didn't improve. Tomorrow will be interesting with the weather."
Verstappen leads Leclerc by 104 points in the overall standings. That means he will be champion if he wins ahead of the Ferrari driver and also takes the fastest lap. Showers are forecast for Sunday.
Perez was fourth, ahead of Alpine's Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes.
Home hope Yuki Tsunoda, racing a Formula One car in front of his fans at Suzuka for the first time, was 13th.
"It's a very tricky lap around here, I lost the tyres in the last section so lost some time," said Leclerc after just losing out on pole.
"We'll try and have a good race, we have a very limited amount of data so that's always a challenge. Let's wait and see the conditions - should be a fun race."
AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly failed to make it past Q1 after an issue with his brakes.
The Frenchman, who announced earlier in the day that he will replace two-time world champion Fernando Alonso at Alpine next season, was furious.
"I feel we could have managed this situation a bit better," Gasly told TV reporters.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
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SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
Indika
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