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Max Verstappen starts on pole position for today’s Styrian Grand Prix and will be looking to secure back-to-back wins after out-qualifying title rival Lewis Hamilton in Austria. The Red Bull driver claimed victory at the French Grand Prix last weekend to move 12 points clear of the defending champion in the drivers standings, before he stormed to a second pole position in a week thanks to a strong performance on Saturday.
The Dutchman finished 0.194 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas to claim pole, but the Mercedes driver has been bumped down to fifth following his spin in the pit-lane on Friday. It means that Hamilton starts behind Verstappen on the front row for the second week in succession, as the title race continues to deliver in a wildly unpredictable season. Hamilton said following the qualifying session that he will be hoping for rain on Sunday, in what is Red Bull’s home track.
“Well done to Max. They have been so fast this weekend. It wasn’t the greatest of sessions but we are on the front row,” Hamilton said. “I did everything I could and I go into tomorrow’s race up for the fight. Max has had a quarter of a second on us all weekend so it will be interesting to see if we can manage it. I don’t think we have the raw pace to overtake them. I go into the race for a fight and I will be giving it everything. Maybe we will get a surprise. Maybe it will rain.” Follow all the build-up and race updates ahead of the Styrian Grand Prix this afternoon.
