Max Verstappen claims pole for Austrian GP with Lando Norris second

Dutch racer Max Verstappen secured his third consecutive pole, edging Brit Lando Norris in qualification for the Austrian Grand Prix on Saturday.  

The 23-year-old is now in a strong position to extend his 18-point lead over reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton with a win at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday. The race is the ninth of the season, with the Dutchman having 156 points and four wins at the top of the driver’s stadings. 

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“Hopefully we can finish it off tomorrow,” AFP quoted him as saying in his post-race comments. 

The Austrian GP is the first Formula One race with a capacity crowd since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.  

Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez will start in the second grid as he finished third in qualification, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas. 

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The Dutch racer recorded the best time in Q1 and Q2, before clocking 1 minute and 3.720 seconds in Q3 to clinch the pole. Norris finished just 0.48 seconds behind Verstappen to be denied his maiden career pole as the 21-year-old’s recent performances only adding to his growing stock. 

“I feel epic, this is cool! That was probably one of the best laps I have done, it puts us in a great position for tomorrow,” he said. 

Verstappen comes into the race on the back of winning the Styrian and French GPs. He finshed 35 seconds ahead of title rival Hamilton after edging the Brit by just 2.904 seconds in the French GP. 

The next race in the Formula One calendar is the British Grand Prix, to be held at the Silverstone Circuit.