Verstappen takes Red Bull's 100th F1 pole

SHANGHAI : Triple world champion Max Verstappen took Red Bull's 100th Formula One pole after dominating qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday.

The pole was the Dutch driver's fifth in five races this season and sixth in a row including last year's Abu Dhabi finale.

Mexican team mate Sergio Perez qualified second fastest in a front row lockout for Red Bull, 15 years after the team took their first win at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and McLaren's Lando Norris shared the second row but Mercedes seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton, second in the morning sprint, went out in the first phase and will start 18th.

(Writing by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Peter Rutherford)