Motor racing-Verstappen on pole for Spanish Grand Prix

Formula One F1 - Spanish Grand Prix - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain - June 3, 2023 Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after qualifying in pole position REUTERS/Nacho Doce

(Reuters) - Red Bull's championship leader Max Verstappen flew to pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz joining him on the front row after a dramatic qualifying.

Verstappen was nearly half a second clear of the Spaniard and so good was his first lap in the final phase that he aborted the second once it became clear nobody else was going to beat him.