Austrian Grand Prix – Qualifying: Max Verstappen continues his domination!

Q3:

Since this morning, Max Verstappen had dominated all the Saturday sessions. The Dutchman impressed again by setting a first lap three tenths faster than the two Mercedes. A performance that made the fans of the Red Bull driver very enthusiastic, as many of them had come to this Austrian Grand Prix.

A new pole position for Max Verstappen who continues to establish himself as the king of this 2021 season.

One of the surprise performances of this weekend is the magnificent 2nd position of Lando Norris, who qualified just 48 thousandths behind Max Verstappen. It will be very interesting to see if the British driver can secure a 3rd podium this season.

Sergio Perez plays the role of the perfect number by qualifying 3rd ahead of the two Mercedes. A performance by the Mexican that clearly demonstrates the superiority of the Austrian team at their home Grand Prix.

A strong new qualification for Pierre Gasly who, like last weekend, will start the race in 6th position. He is only 1 tenth behind Perez who is in 3rd position.

Q2:

At the start of Q2, only the fastest cars, Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari, began this session with medium tires. A strategy that will allow the drivers to start the race on tires that will degrade more slowly and thus extend their first stint.

5 tenths behind his young teammate, Daniel Ricciardo decided to switch to soft tires to try to get out of Q2. Despite this change of strategy, the Australian is once again eliminated in Q2.

There was also a small incident between Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel. Getting ready for his last lap in Q2, the German was slowing down at the 9th corner, which completely compromised the lap of the Alpine driver.

The big performance of this Saturday was without a doubt George Russell’s qualification. Behind the wheel of his modest Williams, the British driver managed the feat of qualifying in Q3 on medium tires. Unlucky last weekend, the Williams driver will certainly seek to score his first points of his career on Sunday.

The eliminated: Antonio Giovinazzi, Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc

Q1:

As often this season, it was the two Haas cars that were the first to take to the track. The American team often tries to maximize its number of laps in order to have a chance to achieve the miracle of making it to Q2. Unfortunately for Gene Haas’ men, the two white cars were eliminated again in 19th and 20th position.

Max Verstappen was setting the pace early on with a time of 1’04’249. A lap that was already 2 tenths quicker than his best time in Q2. A difference that can be explained by the fact that this weekend the F1 cars are running on softer, and therefore more performing, tires.

Like last week, disaster for Esteban Ocon who is eliminated for the second time in a row in Q1 while his Alpine teammate qualified 3rd. The Frenchman is 6 tenths behind his two-time world champion teammate.

Disappointment also for Kimi Räikkönen who once again is beaten by Antonio Giovinazzi. The veteran of the field only finished ahead of the Italian once in this exercise. It was at the second Grand Prix of the season, in Italy. Since Baku, the Finnish driver has not reached Q2.

The eliminated: Nikita Mazepin, Mick Schumacher, Nicholas Latifi, Esteban Ocon, and Kimi Räikkönen.

Results table: