Max Verstappen left no doubt yesterday with his Red Bull that he is the big favorite for another win on Sunday (3 p.m., live on ORF 1 and ServusTV) at the Austrian Grand Prix.
At his “home race”, in which tens of thousands of Dutch fans once again put up an “orange wall” for him, he set the pace yesterday, even if the Ferraris weighed on him. For today’s prologue, the sprint over 24 laps (4.30 p.m.), in which there are world championship points for the top 8, a tough exchange of blows is to be expected. While Ferrari stayed close, there was a damper for the recently revived Mercedes team.
- Styria today: The Formula 1 weekend started in Spielberg on Friday with practice and qualifying.
In the end, Verstappen was 29 thousandths of a second ahead of pursuer Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), followed by Carlos Sainz (Ferrari). “It was a really tight qualifying. It’s also a demanding track, although there are only a few tricky corners,” said Verstappen after his 16th career pole position. “Qualifying wasn’t always our strong point. But I’m confident about the car.”
Motorsport consultant Helmut Marko took a deep breath after the turbulent seconds: “Thank God he was flawless in the last sector and also within the limits. Such a close result.” Leclerc said after the narrow gap: “The last time I tried it, I had a hard time getting the tires to work. I want a clean race so that we can finally get the points we deserve.”
Record world champion Lewis Hamilton damaged his Mercedes in an accident five minutes before the end. His car swerved on a fast lap in the middle sector, skidded over the gravel bed and hit the side. “I’m so sorry I destroyed the car,” said the Briton over the box’s radio link. His Mercedes team-mate George Russell suffered the same fate soon after the session resumed: the 24-year-old lost control of his car in the last corner, spun over the gravel and was stopped, rear first, by the barriers.
“Looking for the limit”
“Of course, both were looking for the limit,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. “Lewis saw that he could have fought for pole position,” explained the Viennese. Hamilton said: “I’m incredibly disappointed in myself.” According to Wolff, “a lot is broken, but the most important thing is that the two are doing well. We’ll definitely have a good car on Sunday, then we can take another step.”
Source: Nachrichten
