Max Verstappen took pole position in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix in F1.
He starts racing first – while both Mercedes cars crashed.
The World Cup leader was the favorite ahead of qualifying for the sprint race in Austria and he lived up to expectations – despite the fact that the final part of qualifying was stopped on two occasions because both Mercedes cars crashed in the third part of qualifying. First, Lewis Hamilton lost control of his car and soon after, George Russell made a mistake.
“It was a real blow, but I’m fine,” Lewis Hamilton said after qualifying.
– I’m so disappointed in myself, I actually don’t know why I broke.
George Russell is also fine after his knock in the third quarter, but the two mistakes made by the two Mercedes drivers created tough challenges for their rivals.
“It was a very long wait between my attempt there in the third quarter and it wasn’t good at all, says Verstappen after qualifying.
– The temperature on the asphalt dropped, it was difficult to get the tires the right temperature and the winds changed a little. This is a very challenging course, even if there are not a lot of curves, it is very challenging.
Verstappen fastest in F1 Austrian Grand Prix qualifying
And at the same time it is a path that he enjoys. Last year he won two races at Red Bull, and this year he will only start a sprint tomorrow and have good chances of getting good conditions for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix in Formula 1 – and then extending his lead in WC.
“We have a good car and now I just hope it’s a clean start through the first turn, I feel completely confident,” Verstappen says.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc starts next to Max Verstappen in a sprint race, a Ferrari driver thirsting for revenge. He has not won an Australian Grand Prix since April.
– It was pretty tight at the top, but I had a hard time getting the tires warm after we’d been in the warehouse for a long time, says Leclerc.
– Now I just want a clean, great sprint, I didn’t have a place in the top five and that’s kind of a disaster for me.
Here is the qualification result:
qualification rating
There isn’t much between the top three 😮#AustrianGP # F1 pic.twitter.com/6psE60NFfp
– Formula 1 (@F1) July 8, 2022
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My Mercedes disappeared in the third quarter. First Lewis Hamilton and then George Russell crashed. Both drivers are fine, but it’s not about the cars, but that means there’s going to be a lot of work for all the boys and girls working at Mercedes tonight. Fortunately they have pre-race practice tomorrow, but note that the cars are at Parc Ferme, which means they have to be built in the setup they had in qualifying. The team may replace the parts with equivalent parts, if they change to other parts, they will be applied at the back of the grid.
Tomorrow’s sprint you’re following in live F1 where I start commenting 15 minutes before the race starts.
Short Austria GP news in F1
Valtteri Bottas has taken on a new engine and starts from the back on Sunday. In tomorrow’s race, points will be awarded to the top eight drivers (8-1) and this race will also determine the starting order for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.
For the third time in a row, Aston Martin did not reach the second quarter. It is a far cry from the stable’s ambitions. How should Lawrence Stroll deal with it? The stable wants to keep Sebastian Vettel, but does he want to stay?
Lando Norris disappeared in Q2, but teammate Daniel Ricciardo didn’t take his McLaren further than in Q1. How do Zak Brown and McLaren deal with this? Looking at the World Cup table, Ricciardo also received a huge defeat from his teammate. Can not handle the car until next year the regulations are the same. Can McLaren afford to keep him in Formula 1, or will he be transferred to IndyCar or Formula E? It will be interesting to follow this up.
Red Bull hired a psychiatrist, Yuki Tsunoda. According to motorsports consultant Helmut Marko, the Japanese are a “problem child”. You can read more about it and the situation at AlphaTauri here.
The team and F1 managers had a meeting and discussed the future. Among other things, they agreed to raise the budget ceiling. This is due to inflation, doubling of freight costs and higher electricity prices.
Because these were unexpected costs that came so late in the season, you have very little chance of responding, says Andreas Seidl of McLaren.
The budget cap has now been raised from $141.2 million to $145.6 since nine out of ten teams voted for it. According to motorsporttotal.com, Alpine was the only team to vote against.