Verstappen edges out Leclerc for Austrian GP Pole
Max Verstappen seized pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix 2023, narrowly outpacing Charles Leclerc by 0.048s. The qualifying session saw a thrilling clash of titans and presented challenges with track limits for several drivers.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen clinched pole position at the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix, besting Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by a scant 0.048 seconds.
His commanding performance saw him leading all three segments, while Leclerc's spirited push in the closing moments of Q3 nearly secured him the top spot.
Q1
Valtteri Bottas' Q1 run was fraught with issues, including a spin-off that led to a temporary halt in the proceedings.
Despite his tribulations, Bottas was able to outperform Yuki Tsunoda with a last-ditch effort.
Meanwhile, Zhou Guanyu and Logan Sargeant found themselves on the losing end, unable to avoid elimination and finishing 17th and 18th, respectively.
Kevin Magnussen and Nyck de Vries rounded out the back of the grid.
Q2
The second segment of the qualifying was punctuated by Red Bull's struggles with track limits.
Verstappen and his teammate, Sergio Perez, both had their initial times disqualified for running too wide out of the final corner.
While Verstappen managed to recover with his second attempt, Perez failed to set a representative time and ended a disappointing 15th.
An unexpected casualty of Q2 was George Russell.
Russell's potential to secure progression to Q3 was thwarted when he was shuffled back following his personal best lap.
Russell, just like Perez, found himself caught out by track limits and lost his chance to compete in the top ten shootout, finishing just outside in 11th.
Q3
Verstappen took charge in the final segment, clocking a blistering 1m04.391s, with excellent performance in the first and third sectors.
Leclerc, who showed his mettle in the middle sector, slightly outpaced his teammate Carlos Sainz.
Leclerc attempted a bold final run in Q3, but a minor slip at the track limits at the final turns allowed Verstappen to secure pole.
Behind them, McLaren's Lando Norris followed in fourth, with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton landing the fifth spot.
In another surprising turn, Lance Stroll outperformed his teammate Fernando Alonso, despite losing his initial Q3 run to a track limits violation.
Nico Hulkenberg of Haas clinched the eighth position, followed by Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon to round off the top ten.
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