By RaceScene Publisher on Saturday, 26 June 2021
Category: The Checkered Flag

Verstappen Continues His Dominance after Securing Pole For The Styrian Grand Prix

It’s back-to-back for poles for Max Verstappen after a stormer of a lap during the Styrian Grand Prix qualifying. 

Championship leader Verstappen was the only driver to get his car into the one minute, three seconds times all weekend, and he cemented his place on top with two laps good enough for pole position in Q3.

Q1 – Haas Out Again

Nicholas Latifi still hasn’t been able to outqualify Williams Racing team-mate George Russell. Yet again, Russell got through to Q2, but Latifi just missed out in sixteenth. However, the Canadian was less than seven-tenths of a second behind the best lap of the session.

Esteban Ocon was the surprise omission of Q1. The Alpine F1 Team driver had looked fast all weekend and a Q3 entry was looking promising, but he struggled and could only get seventeenth.

Antonio Giovinazzi was able to not only outqualify his Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN team-mate, but he also pushed his car into Q2. Kimi Räikkönen couldn’t follow him and is starting eighteenth. His session was hindered when he went off at Turn 4 during a flying lap.

Uralkali Haas F1 Team brought up the rear of the field. Nikita Mazepin will start the race in twentieth. His first lap was deleted due to exceeding track limits, and his best legal lap was nearly two seconds slower compared to Verstappen, who topped the session. His team-mate Mick Schumacher, who made it through to Q2 last weekend in France, will be starting just in front of him in nineteenth.

Despite setting a purple opening sector, Daniel Ricciardo was the man in danger, just scraping through in fifteenth. 

Q2 – Ferrari and McLaren Fall

Russell was just 0.008 off reaching Q3. The young Brit driver has gone from strength to strength this year and if he can keep his qualifying pace, he’ll be surely gunning for some points. He will be starting eleventh.

In the battle for third in the constructor championship between McLaren F1 Team and Scuderia Ferrari, we saw two drivers fall out at Q2. Carlos Sainz Jr. and Ricciardo just haven’t been as good as their team-mates. Sainz Jr. is starting twelfth with Ricciardo behind him in thirteenth.

Sebastian Vettel has set a lap that saw him qualify twelfth, but the time deleted for exceeding track limits. He moves down to a starting position of fourteenth. 

The final driver omitted from Q2 was Giovinazzi who will be starting fifteenth. Sergio Pérez was the fastest at the end of the session after opting to set his fastest time on soft tyres. 

At one point, it looked as if the session could be dangerous for Lewis Hamilton. He locked up at Turn 3 during a flying lap but was still able to get through to Q3. 

Q3 – Verstappen Does It At Red Bulls Home Race

The man battling Verstappen for pole all weekend was Hamilton, but he couldn’t throw the Dutchman from his throne. 

Valtteri Bottas qualified in second, but he will be starting in fifth after obtaining a three-place grid penalty for a spin in the pit-lane during Fridays second practice session. Hamilton qualified in third but will be promoted to second on race day. 

Lando Norris was able to pull out a flier of a lap to put him fourth fastest. He started in fourth at the Styrian Grand Prix last year and went on to gain a podium. I’m sure the promotion to third due to Bottas’ penalty will help his podium chances. 

Pérez is the last man on the grid to benefit from Bottas’ penalty. He qualified fifth but will start the grid fourth. 

Pierre Gasly will be starting sixth with his Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda team-mate Yuki Tsunoda in eighth. However, Tsunoda is under investigation for impeding Bottas when he was on a flying lap at Turn 4 so his starting point could change. 

Finishing off the top ten, Charles Leclerc will be starting seventh, Fernando Alonso in ninth and Lance Stroll in tenth, who only set one flying lap time in Q3.

 Styrian Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Pos#DriverNat.TeamQ1Q2Q3Laps
133Max VerstappenNEDRed Bull Racing Honda1:04.4891:04.4331:03.84119
277Valtteri BottasFINMercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team1:04.5371:04.4431:04.03522
344Lewis HamiltonGBRMercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team1:04.6721:04.5121:04.06724
44Lando NorrisGBRMcLaren F1 Team1:04.5841:04.2981:04.12017
511Sergio PérezMEXRed Bull Racing Honda1:04.6381:04.1971:04.16821
610Pierre GaslyFRAScuderia AlphaTauri Honda1:04.7651:04.4291:04.23618
716Charles LeclercMONScuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow1:04.7451:04.6461:04.47221
822Yuki TsunodaJAPScuderia AlphaTauri Honda1:04.6081:04.6311:04.51421
914Fernando AlonsoESPAlpine F1 Team1:04.9711:04.5821:04.57418
1018Lance StrollCANAston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team1:04.8211:04.6631:04.70818
1163George RussellGBRWilliams Racing1:05.0331:04.67114
1255Carlos Sainz Jr.ESPScuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow1:04.8591:04.80015
133Daniel RicciardoAUSMcLaren F1 Team1:05.1421:04.80814
145Sebastian VettelGERAston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team1:05.0511:04.87515
1599Antonio GiovinazziITAAlfa Romeo Racing Orlen1:05.0921:04.91317
166Nicholas LatifiCANWilliams Racing1:05.1759
1731Esteban OconFRAAlpine F1 Team1:05.2176
187Kimi RäikkönenFINAlfa Romeo Racing Orlen1:05.4298
1947Mick SchumacherGERUralkali Haas F1 Team1:06.0418
209Nikita MazepinRUSUralkali Haas F1 Team1:06.1929
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