Max Verstappen finally clinched "the one I wanted" by taking pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix, and the 50th of his F1 career.
Around a Marina Bay Street Circuit, where Verstappen and Red Bull have predominantly struggled, this weekend he has tamed the streets of Singapore by claiming a sprint win from pole, and now pole for the grand prix on Sunday.
It was a close-run duel, with Verstappen and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton initially going head to head. The seven-time F1 champion had the edge over his big rival in Q1 and Q2, only to seemingly fight more with his SF-26 in Q3 to finish third behind the Dutchman and his Scuderia team-mate.
"Just the margins were very close between us throughout the whole of qualifying," said Verstappen on Sky Sports F1. "Very happy to be on pole because this is the one I wanted, so very happy.
"The car has been really strong all weekend. Always things that can be better, but it was enough for pole, so happy with that.
"[There are] New regulations, and our car now works a little bit differently compared to the previous regulations where we were stronger in different areas of a corner, but yeah, we take it.
"We have been on a positive trend, so for us, it's very special to take pole here."
In the sprint race, Verstappen bemoaned his start as "horrendous" and called on Red Bull to get to the bottom of the issue.
As for what start he can expect for the grand prix, he said: "You have to look at it positively. It cannot get worse. It can only get better, so we'll see how it goes tomorrow."
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