By Le Figaro with AFP
Posted 3 hours ago, Just Updated
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) JOE KLAMAR / AFP
After taking pole position for the F1 Grand Prix scheduled for Sunday, Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) will also be first on the starting grid for the sprint race on Saturday in Austria.
On the Red Bull Ring, the undisputed leader of the world championship and double reigning champion will start in front of his teammate Sergio Pérez on Saturday at 4.30 p.m. for half an hour of racing.
Lando Norris (McLaren) and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) will be on the second row, followed by Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), 3rd in the championship.
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), who took 6th time, was penalized three places for hampering Oscar Piastri and will therefore be 9th on the grid. Besides Alonso, Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon (Alpine) took advantage of this and moved up one place (7th and 8th).
This is the second time this year, after Baku, that a sprint race punctuates the Saturday before the Grand Prix on Sunday (there will be six in total this season). Qualifying on Friday set the starting grid for Sunday, with Verstappen on pole (3:00 p.m.), while a short clean qualifying took place at noon on Saturday for the sprint.
Championship points are awarded for the sprint (8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point for the top eight).
After his 15th place in qualifying for the Grand Prix, Pérez (2nd in the championship far behind his teammate) reassured himself with this second place. The Ferraris, on the other hand, disappointed with their 2nd and 3rd places on Friday (Leclerc had beaten Sainz).
Mercedes also had a very complicated Saturday lunchtime. Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in the first game. Trapped by the limits of the track, his best time was canceled and he will only start 18th this afternoon. George Russell suffered from a mechanical problem and will be 15th.
Ocon’s Alpine teammate, the other Frenchman Pierre Gasly (Alpine) will start 12th in the sprint. He will then start 9th in the Grand Prix, while Ocon will be 12th.
Ranking of the 2nd part of the sprint shootout qualifying session
1. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull)
2. Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Ferrari)
3. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine-Renault)
4. Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)
5. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes)
6. Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas-Ferrari)
7. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin-Mercedes)
8. Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull)
9. Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Mercedes)
10. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Haas-Ferrari)
Delete:
11. Alexander Albon (THA/Williams-Mercedes)
12. Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine-Renault)
13. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri-Red Bull)
14. Nyck de Vries (NED/AlphaTauri-Red Bull)
15. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes)
