Verstappen snatches Austria sprint pole as Hamilton and Russell crash
The reigning world champion pipped the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to his third pole of the season in a thrilling Q3 showdown which came at the end of an incident-packed qualifying session.
Both Mercedes drivers remarkably crashed out during a stop-start Q3 with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell pushing hard with a sniff of pole after what had been a very competitive showing up until their respective incidents.
Hamilton brought out the first red flag when the seven-time world champion suffered a heavy hit with the Turn 7 barriers after losing control of his W13.
“Damn, I am so sorry guys. I’m so sorry for damaging the car,” said Hamilton, who was told by Mercedes they felt he was on for second or third place at that stage.
The session had only just resumed when Russell caused another stoppage when he dropped his car at the final corner and rear-ended the barriers.
What followed was a brilliant three-way scrap for pole between the Ferraris and Red Bull’s Verstappen, and it was the Dutchman who eventually came out on top to send his adoring fans into party mode.
Having briefly been demoted by improvements from both Ferrari drivers, Verstappen returned to top spot on his final lap to better Leclerc by just 0.029s, with F1’s newest race-winner Sainz only 0.082s back in third.
Sergio Perez couldn’t join the fight for pole as he ended up 0.4s off his Red Bull teammate, and the Mexican faces an investigation for exceeding track limits in qualifying.
Russell still ended up fifth despite his crash, ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
Haas continued their fine form in Austria as Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher marked a two-car Q3 appearance with seventh and eighth on the grid as they outpaced Fernando Alonso’s Alpine and Hamilton, who will line up 10th.
Just 0.009s separated Pierre Gasly from getting his AlphaTauri into Q3 as he took 11th, ahead of Alex Albon, who turned in another impressive qualifying performance to go 12th-fastest in his Williams.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas will start the sprint race from 13th but is carrying an engine penalty into Sunday’s grand prix for changing power unit components.
The Finn ended up quicker than Yuki Tsunoda, who was left frustrated to only be 14th in his AlphaTauri, and Lando Norris, who reported he was “scared” to use the brakes on his McLaren as he ended up a lowly 15th.
Daniel Ricciardo’s struggles continued as the McLaren driver suffered a Q1 elimination with a time only good enough for 16th, while both Aston Martin drivers were knocked out in the first segment of qualifying for the third race in a row.
Lance Stroll could only put his Aston Martin 17th, ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou, Nicholas Latifi’s Williams and teammate Sebastian Vettel, who will start Saturday’s sprint from the very back of the grid.
The four-time world champion did not have the pace to get out of Q1 but saw his fastest lap deleted for exceeding track limits, dropping him to 20th and plum last.
