Verstappen storms to pole at Spielberg ahead of the 2021 F1 Styrian Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen took his third pole position of 2021 under the scorching Styrian sun ahead of Valtteri Bottas, who will take a three-place grid drop and Lewis Hamilton with the seven-time world champion starting tomorrow’s race alongside the Red Bull.

Q1

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First out on track was the Williams of Nicholas Latifi and the Haas duo, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. The Canadian was the first driver to set a banker lap time as he set a 1:05.963.

Two minutes later, George Russell went two tenths quicker, before he was swiftly knocked off the summit by Antonio Giovinazzi.

With just over 10 minutes to go, Championship leader Max Verstappen topped the timesheets with a 1:04.489, narrowly ahead of Lando Norris.

The two Mercedes drivers set their first times of the session not long after that. Valtteri Bottas moved up to second, half a tenth behind Verstappen with Lewis Hamilton in fourth, almost two-tenths slower than the Dutchman.

With five minutes to go, Sergio Perez set a time that was over three-quarters of a second behind his Red Bull teammates fastest time. The Mexican was another driver who struggled to find competitive pace in his first stint.

After a quick tyre change from the whole pack, all the drivers who were fifth and below re-emerged from the pits with two and a half minutes remaining to try and solidify their position and advance into Q2.

Cars backed up in sector three on the out lap to try and find a tow, as Russell cracked on and set a lap which put him seventh fastest.

The first driver to cross the line was Giovinazzi who went ninth quickest before a flurry of late times were set which saw Yuki Tsunoda bolt up to fourth narrowly ahead of Perez.

Russell was able to keep his 100% Q2 record up as he advanced into the next qualifying session by putting his Williams car into 12th position.

Eliminated from qualifying after the first session were: Nicholas Latifi, Esteban Ocon, Kimi Raikkonen, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.

Q2

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First to head out to track was Bottas and Giovinazzi, who both fitted the C3 medium compound tyre as they hoped clear air and no traffic would help them set a solid banker time.

Bottas’ first lap time set was a 1:04.724, which was over two-tenths faster than Russell’s banker time.

A minute later, Verstappen set a 1:04.540 as Hamilton could only find pace for fourth, nearly a second behind the Red Bull, as the Brit locked up at the tight turn three.

Meanwhile, Perez set an impressive lap time which was just half a tenth behind his teammate, placing him into second position.

Verstappen improved his time by a tenth of a second, but Gasly soon knocked him down to second as the Frenchman set a 1:04.429, four-thousandths faster than Verstappen, as the top 12 drivers were split by half a second.

Norris entered the top three with seven minutes remaining, just a quarter of a tenth behind the rapid time of Gasly.

Like in Q1, every driver came out for a last dash with two minutes to go to try and solidify their position in Q3, as Hamilton set a flying lap only good enough for P5.

Leclerc set the first time of the dying stages of the session, putting his Ferrari into eighth, as his teammate Sainz failed to advance into Q3.

Russell gate-crashed the top 10 momentarily before Fernando Alonso leapfrogged the Williams man relegating him into the elimination zone.

Daniel Riccardo’s troublesome season continued as he failed to advance from Q2 along with Antonio Giovinazzi, Sebastian Vettel, Carlos Sainz and George Russell.

Q3

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First out on track was Lewis Hamilton as the Brit tried to maximise track time to give himself the best chance of clinching pole position.

Verstappen set a blistering time, being the first man in the 1:03’s as he set a 1:03.841 with Lando Norris moving himself up to third.

With three minutes left on the clock, drivers came in to change tyres before heading out to try and clinch pole position.

With nine cars on their out lap squabbling over track position, it left the drivers with just one shot at bettering their lap times.

Tsunoda was the first driver to finish the session with his time close to seven-tenths slower than Verstappen as the AlphaTauri man moved up into P8. Bottas clinched second position as Norris jumped onto the second row of the grid ahead of Gasly.

It was Verstappen who held onto pole position with the Red Bull ahead of Bottas, who has a three place grid penalty, Hamilton, Norris, Perez, Gasly, Leclerc, Tsunoda, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

What’s Next?

Max Verstappen will line up on pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton for Sunday’s Styrian Grand Prix as the duo continue to battle wheel-for-wheel for the 2021 F1 title.