Max Verstappen shows his class to take shock Japan GP pole position ahead of Lando Norris

McLaren had set the pace by topping all three practice sessions but Verstappen claimed a fourth consecutive pole at Suzuka

Max Verstappen claimed a stunning pole in Japan (AP)

Max Verstappen produced an incredible lap to stun McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and claim a shock pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix.

McLaren have won both races so far this season – one each for Norris and Piastri – and had set the pace by topping all three practice sessions this weekend.

Verstappen’s Red Bull has been off the pace throughout practice, with the four-time world champion saying he was lacking confidence in his car ahead of qualifying.

But the Dutchman showed his quality when it mattered to beat Norris by just 0.012 seconds. Verstappen’s race engineer told his driver over the radio that the lap was “insane”.

Piastri will line up from third on his birthday on Sunday, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

George Russell, who has finished third in the first two races of the season, had appeared to be the nearest challenger to the McLarens at Suzuka but could only manage fifth in his Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton struggled to find pace for Ferrari and will start Sunday’s race from eighth.

Verstappen said: “Every session we just kept on making little improvements, I think that is where we made the difference and the last lap was just flat out.

“We will look to tomorrow and do our best.”

Norris added: “I’m happy, congrats to Max he did a good job. You’ve got to credit something when it’s a lap that good that he must have done.

Verstappen took pole ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (AP)

“It’s going to be an exciting race.”

British driver Oliver Bearman enjoyed a superb session, putting his Haas into Q3 for the first time this season and qualified 10th.

TOP-10 - JAPAN GP QUALIFYING

1. Max Verstappen - 1:26:983

2. Lando Norris +0.012

3. Oscar Piastri +0.044

4. Charles Leclerc +0.316

5. George Russell +0.335

6. Kimi Antonelli +0.572

7. Isack Hadjar +0.586

8. Lewis Hamilton +0.627

9. Alex Albon +0.632

10. Ollie Bearman +0.884

Home favourite Yuki Tsunoda suffered a disappointing Q2 exit on his Red Bull debut, having replaced Liam Lawson who was ditched after just two races and returned to Racing Bulls.

Tsunoda qualified 15th and one place behind Lawson – the New Zealander making it out of Q1 for the first time this campaign.

Qualifying was disrupted by grass fires at the side of the track, an issue which has plagued the action throughout the weekend.

Friday’s second practice and Saturday morning’s session were each red-flagged twice when dry grass caught fire.

The FIA had taken preventative measures heading into Saturday’s action and again doused the grass ahead of qualifying, with concern that the weekend’s first competitive racing could be affected.

Another fire, primarily caused by sparks thrown up by the skid blocks under the cars, began with eight minutes of Q2 remaining as the session was halted for more water to be put on the affected area.

The race on Sunday takes place at 6am (BST).