Red Bull’s Max Verstappen dominated qualifying for Formula 1’s 2024 Austrian Grand Prix, finishing 0.4s clear of McLaren driver Lando Norris, with George Russell third for Mercedes.
But the Red Bull driver faces a post-qualifying investigation for possibly driving too slowly through the pitlane exit at the Red Bull Ring ahead of his final Q3 effort.
After being put under much pressure from Norris and McLaren in sprint qualifying and Saturday’s first race of the weekend, Verstappen was in command throughout the session that sets the grid for the main event.
In Q3, Verstappen led the leading pack around and went quicker still with a 1m04.426s, with Norris chasing him at this stage 0.361s slower but with an edge in the first sector.
On the second runs, Verstappen still did not beat Norris’s session-leading sector one time and then did not better his personal best in the middle third of the lap, but a mighty final sector improved the pole time to 1m04.314s.
Norris shuffled his team-mate Oscar Piastri back to claim second before the other McLaren had its best time deleted to running too wide at Turn 6 on the second Q3 runs.
Russell then moved into third with the final Q3 lap, which was not spoiled by Charles Leclerc going off for Ferrari ahead.
The Scuderia’s post-sprint changes appeared to have made it much more competitive, with Carlos Sainz ending up fourth and one spot better than he managed in sprint qualifying.
But Leclerc was its best hope in Q3 as he had been close to the McLaren drivers’ times despite being on used rubber in Q2 and then at the start of Q3, but on his sole new tyre run Leclerc clipped the Turn 6 gravel and lost time, then went off dramatically at the final two corners.
Leclerc being able to drive through the run-off meant no yellow flags flew to interrupt the laps of the chasing Mercedes drivers, as Lewis Hamilton ended up fifth and Russell leapt up the order.
Leclerc finished sixth, boosted by Piastri’s fall to seventh, with Sergio Perez eighth after being left with no new softs to run in Q3 in the other Red Bull.
Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon rounded out the top 10 for Haas and Alpine, as Hamilton too faces a post-session investigation for dragging a Mercedes jack out into the pitlane as he left his garage at the start of Q3.
At the end of Q2, several drivers set personal bests but failed to beat Ocon’s time – despite running behind him on the track that was still gripping up.
These were Daniel…
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