F1 leader Max Verstappen takes pole position again for Austrian GP

Austria

SPIELBERG, Austria — Max Verstappen followed up his victory in the sprint race with another dominant performance in qualifying for Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix on Saturday to take pole position for the fourth straight year at the Red Bull Ring.

Verstappen clocked 1 minute, 4.314 seconds with his final attempt in the third qualifying session to beat McLaren’s Lando Norris by 0.404 seconds and take his eighth pole of the season. Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri was 0.472 seconds back in third, with George Russell of Mercedes and Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari rounding out the top five.

Verstappen won the sprint race earlier Saturday ahead of Piastri and Norris to extend his lead in the overall standings to 71 points. The defending champion is looking for his eighth race win of the season and fifth in seven years at Red Bull’s home circuit.