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SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen qualified on the pole Friday for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix as scrutiny of Red Bull's boss overshadows the start of the new season.
Verstappen, who won the title in each of the last three seasons, was fastest for Red Bull by .228 seconds over Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. George Russell was third for Mercedes, while Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari was fourth. The second Red Bull of Sergio Perez qualified fifth.
Verstappen won 19 out of 22 races last year — Perez won twice — but the relatively close qualifying times indicated other teams have closed the gap on Red Bull.
As the season begins, the focus has been on an investigation into Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
On Wednesday, the team’s parent company dismissed a complaint of alleged misconduct by Horner toward a team employee. A day later during practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix, a file alleged to contain evidence presented against Horner was emailed to nearly 200 people in the F1 paddock, including Liberty Media, F1, the FIA, the other nine team principals and multiple media outlets.
The authenticity of the files has not been verified by The Associated Press; the file came from a generic email account.
Horner has denied wrongdoing and said in a statement issued Thursday that he would not “comment on anonymous speculation.”
The Bahrain Grand Prix is being held on Saturday because the following race in Saudi Arabia next week has been moved up a day to avoid a clash with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The rules require a full week between races.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
