SPIELBERG-. Max Verstappen will line up on pole position for the Sprint in Austria, having stormed to the top of the timesheets ahead of the pair McLaren by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in a busy Sprint qualifying session.
With every driver in SQ3 posting just one fastest lap in the final minutes, the pressure was on to deliver. And what a delivery Verstappen did, pumping in a time of 1m 04.686s in the Red Bull to go just 0.093s clear of McLaren’s Norris in second.
McLaren driver Piastri took third place, with George Russell’s Mercedes in fourth ahead of Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari in fifth. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton will share the third row with the Spaniard in sixth.
Lando Norris closed the speed gap with Max Verstappen and will try to beat the best driver in Formula 1 at the home of Red Bull.
Norris has driven his McLaren to back-to-back second-place finishes behind the defending champion. This weekend he will be challenged to try and overtake Verstappen at the Red Bull Ring, a track where the Dutchman has won four of six races. Red Bull is based in the UK but retains its Austrian licence.
Verstappen claimed his third consecutive title last year by winning 19 of 23 races, while Mexican Sergio Perez took two and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was the only other driver to taste victory.
Verstappen remains at his best and has won 7 of 19 races in 2024, but this time he has had more of a fight.
Norris has emerged as Verstappen’s most significant rival since the 24-year-old British driver won his first race in Miami in May. Verstappen started from pole position but made a costly mistake hitting the chicane that forced him to pit.
Norris finished second to Verstappen in Montreal three weeks ago and followed that up with a strong weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix last weekend. Norris took first place on the grid in qualifying, but regretted his poor start which he believes cost him victory in Barcelona.
Verstappen acknowledged that McLaren is, for now, better in some areas, especially in terms of tyre durability.
Norris moved up to second in the drivers’ standings, 69 points behind Verstappen. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is two behind Norris.
INSIDE THE LINE
New this year are changes to the track that will help drivers avoid the penalties that stewards handed out to drivers who went outside the track limits in 2023.
To try and encourage drivers to stay on the line, the FIA added a gravel line extending beyond the corner on laps 9 and 10. They also moved the white line at Turn 4.
VERSTAPPEN AT THE FRONT
Verstappen had the fastest time on Friday during the only practice session of the weekend.
His Red Bull suffered an engine problem which led to a red flag, but he returned to the track minutes later.
Source: AP
