SPIELBERG: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen cruised away to a dominant victory as he held his Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc at bay in an enthralling Austria Grand Prix qualifier to claim the pole.
The Red Bull driver edged past his Ferrari rival Leclerc in the opening minutes of the sprint before speeding away from the latter’s reach before taking the chequered flag at the end of the 24th lap.
The Ferrari driver, however, did not let his second position slip as he finished behind Verstappen to secure a front-row spot.
Leclerc teammate and British GP winner Carlos Sainz finished in third despite making his best effort to leave behind the former.
VERSTAPPEN TAKES POLE!!!
Leclerc finishes second, Sainz third#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/aGVjlTSAVJ
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 8, 2022
Former world champion Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s respective clashes proved out to be a double disaster for Mercedes as neither could claim the podium. Russell finished fourth despite the crash, while Hamilton remained unable to recover from it as he finished ninth.
Lewis and George were showing good pace in qualifying before disaster struck for both drivers in Q3#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/QpVsx7mPhl
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 8, 2022
Following the qualifying victory, Verstappen has extended his championship lead by eight points clear of his teammate Sainz.
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