F1: Verstappen Beats Bottas To Claim Pole Position For Styrian GP

Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen has claimed his second consecutive pole, and third overall this season, for the 2021 Formula 1 Styrian Grand Prix in Austria. The driver pipped world champion Lewis Hamilton to take the top spot, while the Mercedes driver joins the Dutch driver in the front row. Verstappen was in top form with two quick laps and posted the fastest time of 1m3.841s, 0.194s ahead of Valtteri Bottas. However, the Mercedes driver received a penalty for his pitlane spin in practice and drops three places down on the grid.

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Lewis Hamilton joins Max on the front row while Lando Norris was promoted to third after Bottas' penalty

This promotes Hamilton to P2 with Lando Norris in the McLaren starting third after a stunning lap saw him qualify fourth in the original order, just 0.279s behind the pole-sitter. Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull starts at P4 as he took fifth, ahead of Bottas.

Starting sixth will be Pierre Gasly in the AlphaTauri followed by Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari. Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri starts eighth and advanced to Q3 for the second time this season. The rookie though is currently under investigation for blocking Bottas during the first runs in Q3. The top 10 order was completed by Alpine F1's Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin's Lance Stroll.

George Russell missed Q3 by just 0.008s but qualifies 11th for tomorrow, while Carlos Sainz Jr in the Ferrari starts at P12, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in the McLaren. Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin qualified 14th after his fastest lap was deleted for exceeding track limits.

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AlphaTauri had a strong show in qualifying with Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda bagging P6 & P8 respectively

Antonio Giovinazzi in the Alfa Romeo starts 15th, followed by Nicholas Latifi in the Williams. Esteban Ocon of Alpine starts 17th, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the Alfa Romeo who made it to Q2 for the sixth time this season. Haas drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin round up the grid for tomorrow.