Max Verstappen underlined his advantage over Lewis Hamilton in Austria as the Red Bull racer claimed pole position for the Styrian Grand Prix in Austria.
Racing on the Red Bull Ring, Red Bull’s Verstappen was expected to be strong on the team’s home circuit.
And the Dutchman backed up that expectation by delivering a strong qualifying session where he always looked in control, while the chasing pack struggled to keep pace.
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas registered the second-fastest time, but his three-place grid penalty for dangerous driving means he will start Sunday’s grand prix from fifth place, on Row 3.
However, Bottas’ misfortune is also something of a boost for Hamilton, who will now start alongside Verstappen on the front row, despite only managing the third-fastest time in qualifying.
McLaren’s Lando Norris enjoyed a superb session to qualify fourth (and start third) with his best lap just five hundredths of a second off Hamilton’s pace.
Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez, meanwhile, could do no better than fifth fastest, but will move forward a row to start from fourth as a result of Bottas’ grid penalty.
JUST IN:
Valtteri Bottas handed penalty for ‘dangerous driving’ in Austria
STARTING GRID FOR STYRIAN GRAND PRIX
1. Max Verstappen | 2. Lewis Hamilton
3. Lando Norris | 4. Sergio Perez
5. Valtteri Bottas* | 6. Pierre Gasly
7. Charles Leclerc | 8. Yuki Tsunoda
9. Fernando Alonso | 10. Lance Stroll
11. George Russell | 12. Carlos Sainz
13. Daniel Ricciardo | 14. Sebastian Vettel
15. Antonio Giovinazzi | 16. Nicholas Latifi
17. Sebastian Ocon | 18. Kimi Raikkonen
19. Mick Schumacher | 20. Nikita Mazepin
*Bottas penalised three grid places for “dangerous driving” during Friday’s free practice.
QUALIFYING 3 RESULTS
- Max Verstappen 1:03.841
- Valtteri Bottas +0.194
- Lewis Hamilton +0.226
- Lando Norris +0.279
- Sergio Perez +0.327
- Pierre Gasly +0.395
- Charles Leclerc +0.631
- Yuki Tsunoda +0.673
- Fernando Alonso +0.733
- Lance Stroll +0.867
QUALIFYING 2 RESULTS
- Sergio Perez – 1:04.197
- Lando Norris +0.101
- Pierre Gasly +0.232
- Max Verstappen +0.236
- Valtteri Bottas +0.246
- Lewis Hamilton +0.315
- Fernando Alonso +0.385
- Yuki Tsunoda +0.434
- Charles Leclerc +0.449
- Lance Stroll +0.466
—ELIMINATED—
- George Russell +0.474
- Carlos Sainz +0.603
- Daniel Ricciardo +0.611
- Sebastian Vettel +0.678
- Antonio Giovinazzi +0.716
QUALIFYING 1 RESULTS
- Max Verstappen – 1:04.489
- Valtteri Bottas +0.048
- Lando Norris +0.095
- Yuki Tsunoda +0.119
- Sergio Perez +0.149
- Lewis Hamilton +0.183
- Charles Leclerc +0.256
- Pierre Gasly +0.276
- Lance Stroll +0.332
- Carlos Sainz +0.370
- Fernando Alonso +0.482
- George Russell +0.544
- Sebastian Vettel +0.562
- Antonio Giovinazzi +0.603
- Daniel Ricciardo +0.653
—ELIMINATED—
- Nicholas Latifi +0.686
- Sebastian Ocon +0.728
- Kimi Raikkonen +0.940
- Mick Schumacher +1.552
- Nikita Mazepin +1.703
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