Austrian Grand Prix 2022: Max Verstappen claims pole position

Max Vertsappen pulled out a stunning lap to grap pole position by just .029 of a second at the Austrian Grand Prix after both Mercedes drivers crashed out of qualifying.

Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen Picture: AFP

Max Verstappen claimed pole for the Austrian Grand Prix sprint race on Friday to enhance his standing as the Red Bull Ring master but Mercedes suffered a double disaster in a qualifying session laden with drama.

Verstappen pulled out a stunning lap in front of tens of thousands of his Dutch fans to grab the prime grid position by just 0.029sec from Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.

“It’s incredible to see the crowd here and see so much orange and the support I get now for a few years already here,” the Belgian-born Dutch world champion said.

“It definitely brings a smile on my face and I hope we can make it a great weekend.” Carlos Sainz, fresh from his maiden win at Silverstone last weekend, was third in the other Ferrari with less than a tenth of a second covering the top three.

Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez took fourth, but the Mexican was demoted to 13th for breaking track limits in the second qualifying session.

Stream all the action from The F1 Austrian GP this weekend on Kayo. Pre-race coverage starts 9:30PM AEST on Sunday, with racing live from 11PM. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >

Max Verstappen took pole position by just 0.029 seconds from Charles Leclerc. Picture: AFP

Mercedes had approached this weekend in confident mood after a strong performance at Silverstone but both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell crashed out in the top-10 shoot-out.

Hamilton made a rare mistake to smash into the barrier at turn seven on a fast lap with five and a half minutes of Q3 left.

He was soon out of his car, walking back to the pits.

“It was a big hit, but I’m okay,” he said later.

“Incredibly disappointed in myself and so sorry to the team who worked so hard to put this car together - I never like to damage it,” Hamilton added.

“We were fighting for a top three, I think. I don’t have an answer for it.” After a red flag period as the mashed-up Mercedes was lifted off the circuit, the session restarted.

But not for long, as Russell then exited stage left, at turn 10, to leave Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff staring bleakly at his TV monitor.

George Russell ponders what might have been after crashing out of qualifying. Picture: Getty Images

With eight cars left to battle it out for pole Verstappen took the honours. “It was a very long wait between the two runs and that’s never great. Once you’re in the rhythm, it’s nice to just keep on going,” said Verstappen.

“But of course, very happy with pole; but I also know that tomorrow and Sunday, you can get the points,” he added.

- ‘Huge positive’ -

Verstappen has won four of the last six races, including two last year on successive weekends, at one of the most picturesque but challenging venues on the F1 calendar.

Saturday’s sprint will shape the grid for Sunday’s race, the 11th round of the world championship which Verstappen leads by 34 points from Perez.

Russell had done enough before his exit to post the fifth fastest time but was promoted to fourth following Perez’s penalty.

In the revised starting order, Esteban Ocon (Alpine) sets off from fifth, ahead of Kevin Magnussen and fellow Haas driver Mick Schumacher. Fernando Alonso, Hamilton and Pierre Gasly complete the top 10.

This is the middle of three sprints on the 2022 calendar. The first, at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend, was won by Verstappen who followed up in the race too.

While not an ideal day for Mercedes, Saturday’s 100km dash gives them a chance to improve their grid positions for the main event on Sunday.

“I’m really quite far back. I don’t know what is possible from there, but it is a sprint race, so I hope I can make up for some lost time,” said Hamilton On a brighter note he added: “I’m encouraged for sure, I can see our performance; we didn’t expect it to be as close as that today, so that’s a huge positive.” Leclerc is looking for a change of fortune after seeing his early season title challenge compromised by suspect team tactics.

“I just want to have a clean race. We had five races that were a little bit of a disaster from my side. I just hope that we can finally score the points that we deserve.”

F1 star reveals how he got out alive from nightmare crash

Chinese Formula One star Zhou Guanyu has recalled the terrifying high-speed crash at the Silverstone Grand Prix, revealing “I don’t know how I survived” after his Alfa Romeo rolled several times before landing upside down near the grandstands.

In his first interview since the frightening crash last Sunday, Zhou told reporters in Austria that the halo most definitely saved his life while detailing the crucial decisions he made throughout the spectacular accident that helped him walk away completely injury free.

“When the flip happened, the first thing I tried to do was release my hands off the steering wheel because you can break your hands very easily with a crash like that,” Zhou said.

“While I was rolling on the ground I knew I would be facing a massive impact coming up because the car wasn’t stopping.

Zhou Guanyu skids across the track upside down in his horror crash. Picture: Ben Stansall/AFP

“I tried to lock myself in a position that was the safest possible, just waiting for the last impact.

“Once I stopped, I didn’t know where I was because I was upside down and the next thing I felt was some leaking.

“I was not sure if it was from my body or from the car, so I just tried to switch the engine off because the engine was still on at that point.

“I knew if a fire started it would be difficult to get out, so I switched my engine off.

“I wasn’t hurt but it was very cold on the left hand side, so I didn’t know if it was blood.

“I was more worried about if the engine caught on fire because in that position, you are really stuck.”

The 23-year-old, racing in his debut F1 season after he was signed by Alfa Romeo ahead of Aussie young gun Oscar Piastri, has watched replays of the incident since the event and remains stunned at how he walked away unscathed.

He managed to walk away from the incident. Picture: AFP

Now Zhou is ready to get back in the driver’s seat, set to hit the track at the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday – just five days after his life-threatening ordeal.

“I didn’t realise (the impact) until I saw the picture,” he said.

“I didn’t know what happened, who hit me because I was going straight and suddenly there was a massive shunt.

“I don’t know how I survived, but then looking back obviously the halo saved me.

“I feel OK now. I had a little bit of bruising that day and the following morning but then everything was OK.

“I have been able to digest the crash by myself, so I was happy mentally. Sometimes you need a bit of mental help but this time I didn’t feel it was needed.”

Originally published as Austrian Grand Prix 2022: Max Verstappen claims pole position