Marc Priestley thinks Max Verstappen fired an ‘ominous’ warning to Lando Norris as the Red Bull pilot beat his McLaren rival to pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix.
After the closest Q1 session in F1 history with the entire field covered by 0.725 seconds, the 26-year-old topped the Q3 timesheet by 0.404s. Verstappen swept to the front with the Red Bull driver’s provisional lap and also shaved further time off his lap to deny Norris a P1 start.
Norris emerged as the best-of-the-rest behind Verstappen and will head George Russell and Carlos Sainz off the grid. Oscar Piastri initially sat third in the Q3 timesheet, but the McLaren driver lost his fastest lap for exceeding track limits at Turn 6 and will only start from seventh.
Marc Priestly found Max Verstappen’s Q3 pace at the Austrian GP ‘ominous’
Another poor qualifying performance from Sergio Perez at the Austrian GP also left Priestley with his head in the former McLaren mechanic’s hands. While Verstappen beat Norris to gift Red Bull another pole at the Austrian GP, Perez took P8 as a consequence of his issues in Q1.
Verstappen set the initial benchmark time in Q3 with a 1:04.426 to beat Norris by 0.361s for provisional pole at the Austrian GP. The Dutchman aced the middle sector to build a margin over the Briton, with the 24-year-old strong in the first and final sectors of the Red Bull Ring.
READ MORE: Five unforgettable Austrian GPs from Ferrari’s orders to Hamilton vs Rosberg
But when it came to the final flying laps, Verstappen astounded Priestley by acing sector one as Norris struggled to shine. The McLaren ace hit the inside kerb at Turn 1 too hard and lost time to his Red Bull rival. And Priestley felt his S1 run was an ominous sign from Verstappen.
Priestley said on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra: “Verstappen ominously has gone quicker in a sector that was a Lando Norris sector.”
Max Verstappen kept pole position out of Lando Norris’ reach
Norris still improved his 1:04.787 provisional time in Q3 but only by to 1:04.718. It proved to be enough to secure P2 after Piastri briefly usurped his McLaren teammate’s early time. But Verstappen trimmed his 1:04.426 time down to 1:04.314 to take pole position further away.
Pole was never realistically in reach for Norris, however, with Verstappen posting a 1:04.469 in Q2, as well. Norris did not lap the Red Bull Ring in the 1:04s until Q3, with his best time in Q2 0.634s slower than Verstappen’s best lap. Russell also beat Norris in Q2 with a 1:05.016.
The Sprint should at least offer Norris some cause for optimism after initially staying close to Verstappen and pulling a pass on him. Had the McLaren racer fully covered the inside line at Turn 4, the Briton might have retained the lead for more than one straight on Lap 5, as well.
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