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Max Verstappen took his third consecutive F1 pole position in front of his barmy fanbase at the Red Bull Ring, four-hundredths ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris.
The Dutchman’s sublime qualifying pace put him at the front of the grid with a clear view into turn one at the start of Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix, where he hopes to repeat the swift nature of his triumph at last weekend’s Styrian Grand Prix.
Q1
First out on track was the two Haas’ of Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher. The Russian set his first banker time of a 1:07.106, which was almost a second slower than Schumacher’s first time.
More early times were starting to be set including a 1:04.249 posted by Max Verstappen in front of tens of thousands of his passionate, bright-orange fans packing out the grandstands.
Lewis Hamilton, fresh from signing his two-year Mercedes contract extension, set a time that was almost three-tenths slower than Verstappen’s provisional pole time.
With five minutes to go, Fernando Alonso briefly jumped up to second, however, he was swiftly relegated to third by Lando Norris. The Brit just a tenth down on Verstappen’s pole time, one of very few drivers who could get close to the Red Bull man all weekend.
The field returned to the pits before heading out on their second runs and with just over two minutes remaining.
Esteban Ocon returned to the track to try and avoid being eliminated from Q1 for the second weekend in a row. The Frenchman set a time only quick enough for P13 but late times were set by George Russell, Lance Stroll, Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly who all avoided the axe, relegating the Alpine man.
Eliminated from Q1 were Kimi Raikkonen, Esteban Ocon, Nicholas Latifi, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.
Q2
The session got underway and Sergio Perez took advantage of the clear air and was first to take to the track. The Mexican crossed over the line to set the session’s first time, a 1:04.554.
With 10 minutes remaining, a flurry of cars went out for their first runs headed by Lewis Hamilton and Antonio Giovinazzi.
Hamilton took pole with a 1:04.501 but was soon demoted by his Championship rival Verstappen who set a 1:04.208.
Birthday boy Sebastian Vettel jumped into second position, however, his party was cut short by Perez and Norris who demoted the Aston Martin driver to fourth.
Russell jumped up to seventh, half a second slower than Verstappen, as he entered the pits to prepare for his second run.
With two and a half minutes of the session remaining, every car left the pits to try and solidify their position in the top 10 with Q3 in their minds.
Fernando Alonso’s final flying lap was impeded at turn 10 by Sebastian Vettel, meaning the Spaniard was eliminated from Q2.
Moments later, Verstappen was the first driver to break into the 1:03’s as he set a 1:03.907.
George Russell put his Williams in the top 10 as he advanced to Q3 in tenth, the first time the Brit has done this in the Williams machinery.
Eliminated from Q2 were Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, Daniel Ricciardo, Fernando Alonso and Antonio Giovinazzi.
Q3
The first driver to leave the pits at the start of Q3 was Lance Stroll with the Canadian leaving the pits ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Pierre Gasly.
Q3’s first competitive time was set by Lando Norris who set a 1:03.958 but was soon beaten by Verstappen by close to three-tenths.
With just over five minutes remaining, all drivers returned to the pits except Russell, who didn’t set a lap time with his car undergoing minor repairs from damage sustained during his final Q2 lap.
Verstappen’s tow was utilised by Norris who was putting the Dutchman’s time under threat as the Dutchman failed to improve.
In the end, it was Verstappen who took pole, five-thousandths ahead of the fantastic Lando Norris with the Brit moving up to second and Sergio Perez in third.
Rounding out the top 10 were Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda, Sebastian Vettel, George Russell and Lance Stroll.
What’s Next?
Max Verstappen will line up on pole position at the Red Bull Ring once again ahead of Lando Norris and Sergio Perez. The Dutchman will hope to extend his lead at the summit of the 2021 F1 standings over Lewis Hamilton with the seven-time world champion starting from fourth on the grid.
