Styrian GP: Max Verstappen tops qualifying for third pole of season
Formula 1 | Jun 26, 2021, 09:15 PM ISTVerstappen became the first driver this weekend to complete a lap below 1 minute, 4 seconds as he timed 1:03.841 in his Red Bull in Q3.
Verstappen became the first driver this weekend to complete a lap below 1 minute, 4 seconds as he timed 1:03.841 in his Red Bull in Q3.
His chances are good this weekend, though. The Dutch driver is proving that he and Red Bull this season are more than just hunters of Mercedes, the dominating force in F1 for seven years.
Verstappen used the DRS system to catch Hamilton on Lap 52 and pass him on the inside before zooming off to clinch his third win of the season and 13th of his career.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and his Red Bull rival Max Verstappen would like to see team bosses Toto Wolff and Christian Horner don boxing gloves to settle their differences.
AlphaTauri's Gasly was fastest in a time of 1 minute, 42.251 seconds, beating Perez by .344 seconds.
Mercedes didn't challenge for the top positions, with Lewis Hamilton seventh and Valtteri Bottas 10th.
Winning the last race in Monaco put Verstappen four points ahead of Hamilton heading into the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Verstappen's second win this season and 12th of his career moved the Red Bull driver four points ahead of Hamilton overall.
The Formula One championship contender led the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz Jr. and local favorite Charles Leclerc, with defending champion Lewis Hamilton only seventh fastest for Mercedes.
Hamilton is aiming for a record eighth F1 title to move one ahead of Michael Schumacher, and he leads the championship by 14 points ahead of Verstappen, who is seeking his first.
Verstappen pushed his Red Bull to a session-best lap of 1 minute, 17.83 seconds.
On Saturday, Hamilton will be aiming for his 100th career pole. On Sunday, he will be looking to equal Michael Schumacher’s six wins in Montmeló.
At a track all teams know well, Mercedes and Red Bull are expected to continue to dominate with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen separated by eight points after three races.
Max Verstappen won a dramatic Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday after world champion Lewis Hamilton hit a wall in a race.
Mercedes led the two practice sessions on Friday with Valtteri Bottas fastest in both, just ahead of Hamilton as Red Bull endured a tough start to the weekend.
The race was effectively decided when Verstappen overtook Hamilton but went too wide on a turn and was told by his team to give Hamilton the position back, as he risked a time penalty.
Verstappen earned his fourth career pole to deny Hamilton his 99th, edging out the world champion by .39 seconds on his final attempt.
The Red Bull driver was .298 seconds ahead of Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas and .503 clear of McLaren's Lando Norris.
He finished 16 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas and 18.4 clear of world champion Lewis Hamilton as Red Bull enjoyed a rare and significant success over both Mercedes cars.
He was .025 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas and .086 clear of world champion Lewis Hamilton for his first pole of the season and third of his career.
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