Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on pole for Austrian Grand Prix
SPIELBERG – It was a perfect day for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on June 29, as he followed up a sprint win by clinching pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix, with McLaren’s Lando Norris alongside on the front row.
George Russell was third fastest for Mercedes, after McLaren’s Oscar Piastri exceeded track limits and was demoted to seventh, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz will start fourth at Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring.
“The qualifying went really well. We tried to adjust the car a little bit... I think it worked well,” said three-time world champion Verstappen, who was 0.404 seconds ahead of Norris with his 40th career pole.
“The car felt a lot better for me today. I could really attack the corners a bit more, every run was on point and it was very enjoyable. The team has been working really hard to make the car more competitive and I think this is a great statement. Hopefully we can of course also show that tomorrow in the race.”
Red Bull will be hoping for a win at their home circuit but they must be wary of Norris, who is becoming more competitive and is Verstappen’s closest rival for the title this season.
The Briton, however, admitted there is still much to improve on.
“It was as much as we could do today. Max was in a league of his own. We’re going to need something extra to beat the pace of Max and the Red Bulls. But I’m excited. It’s a long race, many things can happen, and normally we’re better in the races than we are in qualifying,” he said.
Behind the top four and in the third row are Russell’s teammate Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg – who was being investigated for pit lane incidents at press time – and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon finished seventh to 10th respectively.
Ahead of the main race on June 30, Verstappen leads the drivers’ standings on 227 points, ahead of Norris (156) and Leclerc (150). Red Bull (339) top the constructors’ table, in front of Ferrari (276) and McLaren (250).
Earlier in the sprint race, Verstappen held off a McLaren challenge to win from pole position. It was his third sprint victory out of three this season, his fifth in succession and his 10th in 15 contests.
Piastri finished second, 4.6 seconds behind, with Norris in third.
Russell was fourth and Sainz fifth. Hamilton and Leclerc were sixth and seventh and Perez rounded out in eighth.
The top eight finishers in the 100km sprint score points, with the winner taking eight.
REUTERS, AFP