In Mercedes disaster: Verstappen takes pole

The Dutchman from Red Bull Racing will at least start from first place in the sprint race on Saturday. Ferrari man Charles Leclerc came closest to his pole lap of 1:04,984 minutes, the Monegasse was 29 thousandths of a second behind. In the last qualifying section, both Mercedes drivers retired due to a crash.

Third-placed Carlos Sainz, Leclerc's stable rival, was also extremely close to Verstappen. The Spaniard, who recently celebrated his first victory at Silverstone, was only 0,082 seconds behind. “Incredibly tight. “Three cars within one second,” said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, commenting on the outcome. His second pilot, Sergio Perez, was fourth, 0,420 behind. Hamilton & Russell crash Record world champion Lewis Hamilton seriously damaged his Mercedes in an accident five minutes before the end. His car swerved on a fast lap in the middle sector, skidded over the gravel bed and hit the side. “I’m so sorry, guys, that I destroyed the car,” the Brit said over the radio link to the pits. Teammate George Russell followed soon after the session resumed. The 24-year-old lost his car in the last corner, also spun on the gravel and was stopped rear first by the track barrier. “I’m so sorry guys that I wrecked the car.” Lewis Hamilton In the previous free practice, Verstappen had already set the best time with 1:06,302. Second was Leclerc, 0,255 seconds behind. Not ideal on a sprint weekend were two red flag interruptions that took almost a quarter of an hour off the clock and gave the teams less time to find setup.

Hamilton skidded across the gravel and hit the side. © APA/afp / CHRISTIAN BRUNA

The session was initially stopped after 20 minutes in a bit of a disruptive wind because McLaren driver Lando Norris had to park his car in the sixth corner due to a technical defect. “There is smoke coming from underneath my seat,” said the Brit before getting out of the cockpit. A second red flag followed a short time later because joint material had come loose from the curbs and found its way onto the track. Sprint race on Saturday Mick Schumacher can also hope for renewed points. The 23-year-old tackles the sprint from eighth position in his Haas, for which there would still be one point at the finish. Teammate Kevin Magnussen even came seventh.

The second sprint of the season to Imola, in which World Championship points will again be awarded for the top eight, is scheduled for Saturday, 16.30:24 p.m., over 12.30 laps. Before that, the second free practice session will take place at 15.00 p.m. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) has to tackle the race on Sunday (XNUMX p.m.) from the very back of the starting grid. Several drive components were replaced on the Finn's car beyond the permitted quota.

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In Mercedes disaster: Verstappen takes pole

Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen secured his third pole position at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg on Friday.

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