F1 | Verstappen beats title rival Hamilton to pole in thrilling French GP qualifying

Paul Ricard hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Red Bull in the past, but Max Verstappen ripped up the formbook in French Grand Prix qualifying to fend off title rival Lewis Hamilton and take sensational pole position.

The French track, which returned to the calendar in 2018, has traditionally been a Mercedes stronghold, with Hamilton taking pole and victory in each edition, but this time it was Red Bull who looked like the ones to beat.  Verstappen set the early pace in Q3, four tenths of a second quicker than Hamilton, but things heated up in the second runs as Hamilton went quickest in the first sector. Verstappen responded with a purple second and final sector to better his time and take his second pole of the season.  —read more—