Motorsports
Verstappen takes pole position in Austria.Sainz third, Alonso far away
Who can stop Max Verstappen and Red Bull? When will his domain end? no one has the answer. And the worst thing for those who dream of equality and an exciting winning battle is that it is unlikely to happen anytime soon. ‘Verstappen and Red Bull are in different leagues’ Fernando Alonso pointed out at a press conference. He preferred to focus on podium battles with Mercedes and Ferrari. It was good. While not far away in Canada, Verstappen flew in Austria at the team’s home Red Bull Ring. His RB19 was modified into a rocket. A track that fits like a glove, Spielberg’s asphalt became the runway for Max to take off for pole position. Verstappen thus took his 26th pole position at the age of 25 (30 September 1997), joining Mika Hakkinen in the top 10 most pole-positioned drivers of all time. And this Sunday he has more free tracks than wins. Ayrton Senna’s 42nd win already puts him in the top five of all-time winning drivers. can’t believe it. And what will happen next?
Perez out in Q3.Ferrari behind Max
Only Ferrari could come close to Max’s Red Bull. Verstappen’s teammate ‘Czech’ Perez sank again, his fourth straight Q3 elimination. The only person who shares a weapon with Max, not only is he unable to follow him, but he is light-years away. The Guadalajara native has struggled with rain and mixed conditions in the previous three qualifying rounds. This time, on dry asphalt, Red Bull’s home ground, all the attack laps in Q2 exceeded the track limit and the time was eliminated.He moved up from 2nd to 15th place This classification was sometimes a disappointing spectacle as many laps were eliminated during the session. With gravel instead of asphalt loopholes, the function would have been different and the embarrassment would not have existed.
Verstappen thus took pole position alone without resistance on the other side of the box. Only Ferrari tried to get him into trouble. However, they did not succeed. Carlos Sainz was ahead of Charles Leclerc throughout ‘qualifying’ but Monaco improved again in Q3, just 1/48000th of a second behind Max. Sainz was third behind the Dutchman at 0:190.
Can Ferrari improve race pace?
Again, the Ferrari is a super-fast car in one-lap qualifying, but despite the new parts fitted in Barcelona, the best pace we’ve seen in Canada and more new elements brought to Austria. The red one is not expected to tickle Ferrari to Max on Sunday.
The question is whether Ferrari can replicate the race pace improvement it showed in Canada. This is because the Canadian course had little deterioration and could have been an oasis in the desert. At Spielberg, the people at Ferrari will get the answer. Sainz was already second in Barcelona, but had to lift his leg because he was running out of tires when he pushed. Those in red hope the film will change, or at least improve, in Austria and compete for the podium with the two pilots.
Alonso in 7th place will have to come back
4th was Lando Norris (0″267), who showed great speed in his much improved McLaren, 5th was Mercedes’ Hamilton, 0″428, and 6th was Lance Stroll, 0″502. The Canadian surpassed him: Fernando Alonso, for the first time in ‘qualifying’ in Barcelona, equaled the time in Austria by just 1/18,000th. Alonso was seventh, 0.520 seconds behind his best lap, complicating the race for the podium.
Tire degradation should be better than Ferrari in the race, and Aston Martin’s big advantage is race pace. But it will be complicated to start 7th and aim for the 7th podium in 9 races. Sunday’s schedule is to face Hamilton again, in which it will be necessary to see how the team manages Stroll’s starting position right after the start. ahead.
At Barcelona, a bad ‘qualifying’ swayed Fernando Alonso’s career, but cold weather affected him. With rain unlikely on Sunday at Spielberg, Fernando will need to use the car’s good theoretical pace to score as many points as possible with two clear targets. It is a battle for second place with Mercedes. He won the manufacturer and cut points to world runner-up Perez, which is no small thing.
Source: Mundo Deportivo
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.