On his team’s circuit, the Red Bull Ring, like the one who runs at home, Max Verstappen did not leave even the slightest loophole in doubt as to who would dominate the standings and take pole position for Sunday’s race (15.00 h). The Dutchman scored his sixth preferred starting position of the nine disputed, the fourth in a row; an overwhelming domain.
Those who came closest to him were the Ferraris, Charles Leclerc second, and Carlos Sainz, third. Fernando Alonso was discreet with a seventh place, his second worst starting position this year.
Verstappen left no homework pending for the end of the qualifying, brought forward to Friday when the second Sprint race of the season was held this Saturday (4:30 p.m.). The two-time champion set dissuasive times to enter Q1 –even if they canceled the first lap-; his neighbor Checo Pérez was the closest to him, at 61 thousandths. Sainz signed a good fourth place (2 tenths away), and Alonso was seventh (half a second).
Such is the ambition of the Dutchman that he is even the first to appear in the pit lane to get out on track before anyone else. It didn’t matter that they took his time again for rolling with all four wheels outside the limit of the track in turn 10. “This is a joke with these track limits, it’s ridiculous,” complained Verstappen, who in his next turn took the lead again being the first to drop under 1m05s. Sainz was on his heels at 85 thousandths.
Alonso was fourth, one tenth behind Verstappen, but his lap was annulled when he went outside the track limits twice at turn 10, just as Pérez did for the second time. So that in the last 2 and a half minutes, the Asturian was 8th and the Mexican, the last, 15th. The same evil suffered Stroll and Russell, who were seen behind, against the ropes.
In the comeback operation on the last lap, with the clock at zero, Pérez achieved the second time (39 thousandths of a second behind his partner), but they took it away again for going wide at turn 9. And Russell did not go beyond 11. th. A carnage of strong riders that favored Alonso and Sainz, who would have two fewer rivals at the start. For the fourth consecutive classification, Pérez was out of the top 10, a blow for the Mexican, who is increasingly questioned.
In the final Q3, Verstappen took the roller again with a 1m04s503 in his first attempt, while the rest stuck out their tongues so as not to go off track and get closer to Red Bull. The Ferraris were only 2 and 4 tenths closer, Leclerc and Sainz, ahead of Norris and Hamilton, fifth. Alonso was only sixth, 1 second behind the Dutchman. Very discreet.
On the second attempt, Verstappen took a turn to drop the clock by another tenth, while the Ferraris maintained the hierarchy, with Leclerc closing to just 48 thousandths, ahead of Sainz, second and third respectively. Alonso, seventh to 5 tenths, slipped Norris, Hamilton and Stroll. It is the second worst starting position for the Asturian this season (he was 9th in Montmeló).
