Max Verstappen, the Formula 1 World Championship leader from Red Bull, won (26) the pole position of the Styrian Grand Prix starring in his team’s home country this Saturday, indicating that he is once again Lewis’s side. The opponent will be Hamilton in the title match.
️ @Max33Verstappen was…
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second in qualifying#StyrianGP 🇦🇹 # F1 @pirelisport pic.twitter.com/QXwna1o0p4– Formula 1 (@F1) 26 June 2021
Seven-time world champion Hamilton has finished third on the Red Bull Ring circuit in Austria, but will join Verstappen in the front row of the grid as his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, the second fastest, has to move to the three-place grid. Got a penalty. Friday (25).
Verstappen is 12 points ahead of Hamilton on the leaderboard after seven rounds, with three wins for each driver, and this Sunday’s race promises to be another exciting battle between two of the competition’s most impressive drivers.
The pole, with a speed of 0s194 faster than Bottas’ best, was Verstappen’s second and his third of the season after leading the grid in France last weekend. It was also Red Bull’s first on the Spielberg circuit.
“I’m sure tomorrow will be very, very tough”, said the Dutch driver after recording his fastest time of 1min03s841 on his first lap in the final session. The second lap was slower but still faster than any other rider.
“I hope it’s equally interesting in France,” said Verstappen, who won at Le Castellet after passing Hamilton as part of a bold two-stop pitstop strategy.
Updated Sunday Grid*#StyrianGP *After Sunoda’s grid penalty pic.twitter.com/IVFkJdw7PD
– Formula 1 (@F1) 26 June 2021
Hamilton said he did everything he could, but his second session was not the best and he made mistakes on the final lap.
“Even so, I’m still on the front row of the grid,” said Britt. “I did everything I could and tomorrow we are going to fight for victory,” he said.
“They usually had a quarter of a second on us all weekend. We managed to come close in qualifying, but in the race adjustment yesterday they were 0s25 ahead of us most of the time,” he added of Red Bull’s pace .
“It will be interesting to know whether we’re going to make it or not. I don’t think we have the fast pace to overtake them, that’s for sure, but maybe we can move on. Maybe tomorrow we’ll have a surprise, maybe it’ll rain” , he announced.
Norris in third
The shortest lap in the final session saw the riders gain momentum as they fought for space. Hamilton decided to take matters into his own hands and pass several cars in front of him, but without getting anything in return, as Verstappen’s time faced the test.
McLaren’s Lando Norris will be in fourth with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in third after a penalty imposed on Bottas for dangerous driving after racing in the pitlane on Friday.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly will start in sixth place, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in seventh and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in eighth.
Tsunoda and Bottas were called in to investigate, with the Japanese rookie under investigation for allegedly blocking Finn on the track.
Spanish two-time world champion Fernando Alonso placed his Alpine in ninth place on the grid, with Lance Stroll from Aston Martin in 10th.
United Kingdom’s George Russell, if the team decides not to extend Bottas’s contract, has moved up to an impressive 11th place with Williams as the main candidate for Mercedes next season with Hamilton.
