F1 News: Verstappen nips Norris for Austrian GP Sprint pole

Max Verstappen won his 8th Sprint Race pole with a time of 1m04.686s around the fast but short Red Bull Ring in his #1 Red Bull Honda.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Carrying his inferior Red Bull on his back, Verstappen topped SQ1, SQ2 and SQ3 to nip the superior McLaren of Lando Norris by just 0.093s.

“It’s great to be first here in front of, basically, my home fans, my home Grand Prix, it was a good day so far.

“It’s really been nice to drive the car, immediately the car was well-balanced, and then you make some little adjustments going into the Sprint Quali. Everything has been working really well so a good start to the weekend. Still a lot of things to do but I’m happy with today.”

There is a big gap to Oscar Piastri’s McLaren in third, 0.368s behind Verstappen.

George Russell was the fastest Mercedes driver in 4th, 0.368s behind Verstappen.

Carlos Sainz Jr. rounded out the top-5 in his #55 Ferrari, 0.440s behind Verstappen.

A potential disaster for Leclerc who stopped in the pit lane! He managed to get his car going again but did not set a time in SQ3 before the checkered flag fell!

It’s Verstappen’s day, but those McLarens are not far behind. There’s also Russell in fourth who might fancy his chances – he didn’t do too badly from that position after all in his Spanish Grand Prix start last weekend.

The focus is now on the Sprint itself tomorrow morning, with more precious points on offer.

2024 Austrian GP Sprint Race Qualifying Results