Max Verstappen is in the perfect position to clinch a second world title at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday by grabbing pole at Suzuka.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc just missed out on beating Verstappen’s earlier time with his final lap but the Red Bull driver held on by 0.01 seconds.

Verstappen made an error on his own final lap, running wide at Turn Two and losing some bodywork, but held on.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took third ahead of the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez.

Verstappen will become champion if he wins the race with fastest lap, regardless of the results of Leclerc and Perez.

A win without fastest lap for the Dutchman would require Leclerc to be lower than second for Verstappen to put the title to bed.

Verstappen was later handed a reprimand by the race stewards following a scary moment with McLaren’s Lando Norris during the final session.

Verstappen almost lost control of his car on the exit of the flat-out 130R while on a slow lap as Norris approached at high speed. And when the Red Bull snapped sideways, Norris had to take to the grass to avoid him.

“I was driving quite slow and tried to accelerate,” Verstappen said, “but my tyres were quite cold so I had a snap.”

For his part, Norris saw the incident very differently, insisting it was “quite clear” Verstappen had tried to defend his position on track. 

Asked if he would expect a penalty if he was in Verstappen’s situation, Norris said: “Oh yeah, for sure.”