Leclerc was 11 seconds clear with seven laps to go and 8.3 ahead with five remaining as the massed ranks of 'tifosi' willed him on.
Lando Norris put McLaren on pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday
Lando Norris won the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday to deliver McLaren's first Formula One constructors' title since 1998
Verstappen took pole position for the Saudi Arabian Formula One Grand Prix on Friday with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc qualifying alongside on the front row.
Verstappen, who had started alongside Norris on the front row, was leading by lap three and could then build a buffer and take control.
It was the first time Verstappen, winner of a record 19 of 22 races last year, has won the first two races of a season. He has also won 19 of the last 20.
McLaren's Lando Norris dominated the Singapore Grand Prix from start to finish on Sunday to take another chunk out of Max Verstappen's Formula One championship lead.
Force India overtook Williams for fourth position in the team standings after Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez bagged 22 points by finishing fourth and fifth in the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix.
The French Open, which Nadal has won a record 14 times including last year, starts on May 28.
World champion Max Verstappen took the first pole position of the Formula One season in Bahrain on Friday.
World champion Max Verstappen got back to winning ways on Sunday with a third straight pole-to-flag victory at the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix, leading teammate Sergio Perez across the line for a Red Bull 1-2 at Suzuka.
McLaren are set to replace Mexican Sergio Perez with Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen for next season, media reports said on Monday.
Charles Leclerc claimed pole position for his home race
As expected, it was not a great result for Sahara Force India in the qualifying session for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix as Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez will start the season-opening race from the 14th and 15th spots respectively.
The Dutchman's run of nine successive wins was snapped as he broke down on lap four with a brake problem.
Lando Norris led a McLaren front row sweep in qualifying for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday
McLaren are leading the constructor's championship but are only 29 points ahead of Ferrari, with Leclerc an obvious threat and team mate Carlos Sainz qualifying fifth and Mercedes' George Russell sixth.
Triple Formula One world champion Verstappen missed out on pole because he set his time of one minute 12.000 seconds after his British rival in a drama-filled qualifying session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
McLaren could clinch their first constructors' crown since 1998 on Sunday if they outscore Ferrari by 21 points at the Qatar F1 Grand Prix.
Red Bull's Verstappen, who had been on pole at Zandvoort every year since the circuit returned in 2021 and has yet to be beaten there, will still line up alongside the Briton on the front row.
Rayo Vallecano beat Albacete 1-0 on Wednesday as Spanish football returned in bizarre circumstances from its COVID-19 hiatus with the second half of a match that first kicked off six months ago but was suspended due to offensive chanting. The second division encounter, played without fans in attendance, was the first Spanish football match to take place since March after all soccer was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The win was a first for Ferrari in Mexico since 1990 and fourth of Carlos Sainz's career.
George Russell led Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes front-row lockout in qualifying for the British Grand Prix on Saturday with McLaren's Lando Norris completing a rare one-two-three of home drivers.
Lewis Hamilton will bring down the curtain on his Mercedes career in Abu Dhabi on Sunday as his past and future Formula One teams, McLaren and Ferrari, fight for a constructors' title to end years of waiting.
Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez will start the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from seventh and eighth on the grid courtesy a solid showing in the qualifying at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
The final phase of qualifying was halted, with only Piastri and Haas' Nico Hulkenberg having set times, when Sainz slammed backwards into the barriers at the final corner as he prepared to start his flying lap.
Red Bull make changes to car after discussions with FIA
McLaren's Lando Norris hailed the best qualifying lap of his career after beating F1 leader Max Verstappen to pole position at the US Grand Prix.
Force India regained fifth position in the team standings with a double points finish at the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Sunday.
Lando Norris roared to his second successive pole position, and third in four races, in a McLaren front row sweep with team mate Oscar Piastri
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc secured pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday after a furious Max Verstappen was forced to abandon his fastest lap for fear of running out of fuel.
Max Verstappen will have a five place grid penalty for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix after a gearbox change.
Team co-owner Vijay Mallya said in a statement on Tuesday that the deal, which will make the cars stand out at the Australian season-opener next week, is one of the most significant partnerships in Force India's 10-year history.
Sergio Perez was glad simply to make it to the end of the Malaysian Grand Prix, with the Mexican, stricken by a virus, describing it as the hardest race of his career.
The next race is Verstappen's home Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort after the August break and Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said his driver was a once in a generation talent.
Charles Leclerc won the US Grand Prix in a Ferrari one-two with Carlos Sainz on Sunday as Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen dealt Lando Norris a significant setback in their title battle.
The pole was the 26th of Charles Leclerc's career, and third of the season.
Max Verstappen won the first sprint race of the Formula One season at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz claimed his first Formula One victory on Sunday in a thrilling British Grand Prix halted by a first-lap crash and with the added mayhem of a track invasion by protesters.
Leclerc's performance on Saturday earned him his sixth pole from eight races so far this season, and fourth in a row.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances