Hamilton finished second and Verstappen third, but Hamilton might fall down the grid for blocking Raikkonen.
SPIELBERG, Austria—June 29th—Especially after his easy win last week in France, it would be apropos for Lewis Hamilton to be the pole sitter for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix. But on Saturday afternoon at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, it did not go that way.
Charles Leclerc, who had been dominating all week, continued his success by breaking the circuit lap record with a 1: 03:033 fastest lap to take his second pole of the season. His first was in Bahrain back in April.
Hamilton, battling grip issues, finally managed to get in a good lap at the last minute to take second place. But Hamilton is under investigation for blocking Kimi Raikkonen at turn two and could fall down the grid.
“The car felt amazing, we did some changes, and it was quite good,” Leclerc said. “It was a pleasure to drive this car, and it just felt right. I am happy with pole position. But tomorrow, we need to do more.”
Both Verstappen and Leclerc had quickest times in the opening sessions, respectively, but it was the man from Monaco who had the last say. With under two minutes to go, Leclerc had to go with a huge line of cars just to record the fastest lap in the history of the Red Bull Ring.
But while Leclerc was enjoying his special moment, Ferrari teammate, Sebastian Vettel, failed to even appear for the final session. An air pressure line failure kept him in the garage for the rest of qualifying.
Valtteri Bottas finished in fourth, while the American Haas F1 Team had Kevin Magnussen take fifth– the best qualifying finish of his young career. Lando Norris kept McLaren in the fight with sixth, while the Alfa Romeo’s team of Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi took seventh and eighth, respectively. That was the duos best double qualifying placing so far this season.
Pierre Gasly was a disappointing ninth after being up front most of the week. The other Haas, driven by Romain Grosjean, just missed the final session and will start the race from 11th.
Sunday’s hot weather, as well as the reminder that hydraulic failure kept him out of a win in Bahrain, is certain to be on Leclerc’s mind. “It is going to be difficult for us and especially for the car,” Leclerc observed. “It will be about management for everything…and it will be difficult tomorrow.”
