Max Verstappen continued his dominant form at the Red Bull Ring, securing pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix in an electrifying qualifying session. The Red Bull driver outperformed the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to claim the top spot on the grid.
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Verstappen faced some challenges earlier in the qualifying session, with his lap times in Q1 and Q2 deleted due to track limit violations. However, he showed his resilience by making it into the top 10 shootout and delivering a stunning pole-winning lap of 1m 04.391s.
Sergio Perez failed to make it to Q3 after having his lap times deleted in the second phase
Unfortunately, Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez failed to make it to Q3 after having successive lap times deleted in the second phase. This left the Ferraris as Verstappen's main competition, with Leclerc missing out on pole by a mere 0.048 seconds.
Charles Leclerc missed out on pole position by a mere 0.048s
Sainz secured third place on the grid, trailing Verstappen by an additional tenth-and-a-half. Lando Norris put in an exceptional performance in his upgraded McLaren, securing a spot on the second row and denying Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and the Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.
Nico Hulkenberg continued to impress by securing eighth position for Haas, ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Williams’ Alex Albon, who showcased remarkable skill despite losing a lap due to track limits.
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The qualifying session saw a significant number of deleted lap times, leading to dramatic exits in Q2. Mercedes’ George Russell failed to recover from a track limits violation and ended up in 11th place, followed closely by Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri settled for 13th, while Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas demonstrated resilience after a spin in Q1, finishing in 14th position.
However, the biggest headline from Q2 was Perez's elimination due to repeated track limit violations. This setback marked the fourth consecutive race weekend where the Red Bull driver faced similar challenges, leaving him starting from 15th place on race day.
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AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda lost a lap time for track limit violations after the session had ended, resulting in a 16th-place qualification. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and Williams rookie Logan Sargeant also failed to progress to Q2.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen had a disappointing qualifying session, starting in 19th place as he celebrated his 150th Grand Prix start. AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries completed the grid in 20th position on a weekend where, according to rumours, he’ll need to prove his worth to RedBull top brass.
Austria will host the second F1 Sprint of the season, followed by the 100-kilometre Sprint race on Saturday
With the qualifying session complete, Austria will host the second F1 Sprint of the season, followed by the 100-kilometre Sprint race on Saturday. The stage is set for an exhilarating Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Starting Order:
1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull] - 1:04.391sec
2. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari] - +0.048sec
3. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari] - +0.190sec
4. Lando Norris [McLaren] - +0.267sec
5. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes] - +0.428sec
6. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin] - +0.502sec
7. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin] - +0.520sec
8. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas] - +0.699sec
9. Pierre Gasly [Alpine] - +0.779sec
10. Alex Albon [Williams] - +1.432sec
ELIMINATED IN Q2
11. George Russell [Mercedes]
12. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]
13. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]
14. Valtteri Bottas [Alfa Romeo]
15. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]
ELIMINATED IN Q1
16. Yuki Tsunoda [AlphaTauri]
17. Zhou Guanyu [Alfa Romeo]
18. Logan Sargeant [Williams]
19. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]
20. Nyck de Vries [AlphaTauri]
