It’s no longer the dominance of a few months ago, that’s clear and obvious, but Max Verstappen (Red Bull) is currently managing to stay ahead of the pack of drivers who want to dethrone him. He proved it again on Friday during the sprint qualifying on the Spielberg circuit, by setting the best time in SQ3, in 1’04″686, on soft tires of course.
The Dutchman is first ahead of the McLarens, who confirm their status as the second force in the field, with Lando Norris only nine hundredths behind the triple world champion, and Oscar Piastri 30 hundredths behind. Then follow George Russell (Mercedes), Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), very close to elimination in Q1 after having made two errors during his first two attempts, Sergio Perez (Red Bull), at 1 “3 from his teammate, the Alpine of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, once again in Q3, and Charles Leclerc, who was unable to set a time because he waited too long in the pits before coming out to perform his only lap fast in SQ3.
In the second part of the table, we find in particular the two Aston Martins, with Lance Stroll 12th and Fernando Alonso 13th, which follow the Haas of Kevin Magnussen. Last on the sprint grid, Saturday at noon, will be the Chinese Guanyu Zhou with his Sauber.
