Styrian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton produces masterclass to take pole ahead of Max Verstappen in awful conditions
Lewis Hamilton enhanced his reputation as one of the best wet-weather F1 drivers of all time with a masterclass in terrible conditions to take pole at the Styrian Grand Prix.
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Defending six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton delivered one of his greatest qualifying performances in treacherous rain-swept conditions when he stormed to pole position for the Styrian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver, who struggled in practice, bounced back to his best with a fastest lap in one minute and 19.273 seconds, outpacing nearest rival Max Verstappen of Red Bull by a stunning 1.2 seconds.
His performance confirmed his enduring class on a day when heavy rainstorms had delayed the session by 45 minutes and forced the cancellation of third practice.
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It was his third pole success at the Red Bull Ring circuit, the 89th of his career and confirmed his reputation as a great driver in the wettest conditions.
“What a tricky day,” said Hamilton.
“It was so difficult for all of us with this weather and some of the time you can’t see where you are going, but I loved it - though I did have a big aquaplane and had my heart in my mouth.”
Ferrari-bound Carlos Sainz was third for McLaren ahead of Valtteri Bottas, winner of last weekend’s season-opening Austrian Grand Prix at the same circuit, in the second Mercedes, Esteban Ocon of Renault and Lando Norris in the second McLaren.
Norris, however, will drop three places on the grid after taking a penalty for ignoring yellow flags in opening practice.
That will elevate Alex Albon, who was seventh in the second Red Bull, Pierre Gasly of Alpha Tauri and Daniel Ricciardo, ninth in the second Renault, but leave Sebastian Vettel 10th in the leading Ferrari on another difficult day for the Italian team.
His team-mate Charles Leclerc qualified 11th but dropped down the grid due to penalties.
Vettel had been encouraged by the performance of Ferrari’s upgrades a day earlier, but said he was disappointed with their wet weather set-up.
“It was a difficult session for us,” he said.
“We struggled to get the tyres to work and now we have to have a good look to see why. I had lots of aquaplaning in particular at the end of Q2 and in Q3 as well.
“So not ideal. We need to make sure we learn the maximum we can from this session and take it into the next wet session.
“Tomorrow should be dry which is a bit different. We fight and try everything we can tomorrow.”
STYRIAN GRAND PRIX GRID
1. L Hamilton - 1:19.273
2. M Verstappen - 1:20.489
3. C Sainz Jr - 1:20.671
4. V Bottas - 1:20.701
5. E Ocon - 1:20.922
6. A Albon - 1:21.011
7. P Gasly - 1:20.028
8. D Ricciardo - 1:21.192
9. L Norris - 1:20.925 (penalised three places)
10. S Vettal - 1:21.651
6th row: George Russell (GBR/Williams-Mercedes) Lance Stroll (CAN/Racing Point-Mercedes) 7th row: Daniil Kvyat (RUS/AlphaTauri-Honda) Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) 8th row: Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas-Ferrari) Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari) 9th row: Sergio Perez (MEX/Racing Point-Mercedes) Nicholas Latifi (CAN/Williams-Mercedes) 10th row: Antonio Giovinzzi (ITA/Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari) Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas-Ferrari)
Originally published as Styrian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton produces masterclass to take pole ahead of Max Verstappen in awful conditions