Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen survived the changing elements in the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint race to secure his pole position for Sunday’s main event.
At the start Verstappen lost the lead to teammate Sergio Perez, but once retaking the top spot, nobody could match Verstappen’s blistering pace.
“The start was not ideal, a bit of wheel spin, but after that, after lap one, once we got back in the lead, it was good,” said Verstappen. “We were just managing the tires, knowing that if it wasn’t going to rain anymore, then you know 24 laps on an intermediate is quite a lot, but they were hanging in there.
“I think of course the last five laps the slicks were quite a bit faster, but I think for us, so far in the lead, it didn’t make sense to pit. We just hung in there with the inters which worked well.”
Rain was an issue at the start, though the transition from wet to dry conditions allowed for some teams to elect for slick tires.
Despite the change in conditions at Red Bull Ring, the front-runners stayed consistent with intermediate tires, proving to be the right call at the checkered flag.
Behind the Red Bull duo, Ferrari’s Carlos Saniz finished third, with a pair of Aston Martin’s in Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso rounding out the top-five.
The biggest mover was Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who vaulted from 18th on the grid to 10th.