scroll
Scroll downfor the latest news

Max starting Austrian GP from P5: “A bit disappointed”

Published on 08 July 2017 by Mike Motilall

Max Verstappen qualified sixth for the Austrian Grand Prix, but is starting the race from fifth as he has been promoted due to the grid penalty Lewis Hamilton has been given. The Dutchman had to deal with a yellow flag in his final flying lap but also spun off track himself. Before that, he clocked a 1:04.983. Good enough for sixth and only one tenth down on Red Bull Racing-team mate Daniel Ricciardo. Valtteri Bottas scored his second Formula 1-career pole. Sebastian Vettel will be next to the Fin on the first row. Lewis Hamilton qualified third but due to his penalty for a gear box change is starting from eighth.

In Q3, Verstappen did three runs, during which every time something happened: “In the first run I lost the rear in turn three,” Max explains himself after qualifying. “I lost a lot of time with that. In the second run, I hit the kerb stones in turn one, so that immediately took away two tenths from me. Then I won back some time, so there was enough to be won. In my final run, everything was good in the first corner. Turn three was also good, but then the yellow flag came out and DRS was disabled, so I lost two tenths on the straight. Then you try to make up for the lost time, because I knew it was doable and then I lost the rear because I was on the throttle too aggressively.”

Despite his spin, Max is starting the race from fifth, which offers many perspectives: “We’ll see how things pan out tomorrow. Today, it was a bit disappointing. I had rather been more to the front. That was possible in fact, hadn’t it been for the yellow flag. You lose two tenths, you’re down on your time and want to make up for the loss and then you spin off track. That is of course very disappointing, but on the other hand, I am in a reasonable position. I am not sure whether we can make it on the podium based only on raw speed. Ahead of us, something needs to happen then.” The predicted rain may offer a solution: “If there are changing weather conditions, that can benefit us. We cannot keep up with Ferrari and Mercedes on raw speed alone, but with a good strategy you never know.”

Prior to qualifying, rain is predicted. But when the first part of qualifying gets underway, the prediction fails to become reality and it remains dry. Verstappen is in his first flying lap on the ultra-softs and is third, with a 1:05.779.

After Kevin Magnussen’s first flying lap, his suspension breaks and the Dane is forced to retire his Haas in the pits. Verstappen doesn’t come back out on track for the remainder of Q1 and is safe for the second part of qualifying with his sixth fastest time. Drop outs in Q1 are: both Saubers, the Williams’-drivers and Renault running Jolyon Palmer.

In the second part of qualifying, Max does, for the first time this weekend, a lap under a minute five. With a 1:04.948 the Dutchman snatches P4. Lewis Hamilton goes for a different strategy and does his run on the super-soft compound tyre, which means that he will need to start the race tomorrow on those. All the other drivers, do their runs on the ultra-soft tyres. Daniil Kvyat, Stoffel Vandoorne, Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg are the slowest in Q2 and do not make it to the final part of qualifying.

In Q3, Max heads out on track as the great many Dutch fans cheer him on. The Dutchman clocks a 1:05.110. Which is good enough for the sixth fastest time on the leader board. Bottas, on the other hand, tops that board with a 1:04.251. Verstappen, in turn, does a fast lap again (1:04.983), but doesn’t improve his position. All the drivers head out for a last run in the closing stages. But then the yellow flag is out when Romain Grosjean comes to a standstill trackside in his Haas. At that moment, Max is busy with a fast lap, but spins in turn seven. He makes an off track excursion in the gravel trap, but is able to bring his car back to the pits without damages.

Nobody is able to better Bottas’ time, putting the Fin on pole for the race tomorrow. Vettel and Raikkonen are behind of him in second and third. Both Red Bull Racing-drivers Ricciardo and Verstappen take up positions fourth and fifth on the grid. Lewis Hamilton will start the race from eighth due to his gear box change.

Austrian Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring – Saturday 8 July

RESULTS QUALIFYING

01 77 Valtteri Bottas     Mercedes                    1:05.760 1:04.316 1:04.251 18
02  5 Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari                     1:05.585 1:04.772 1:04.293 17
03 44 Lewis Hamilton      Mercedes                    1:05.064 1:04.800 1:04.424 17 *5 plekken gridstraf
04  7 Kimi Räikkönen      Ferrari                     1:05.148 1:05.004 1:04.779 17
05  3 Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:05.854 1:05.161 1:04.896 22
06 33 Max Verstappen      Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:05.779 1:04.948 1:04.983 16
07  8 Romain Grosjean     Haas Ferrari                1:05.902 1:05.319 1:05.480 30
08 11 Sergio Perez        Force India Mercedes        1:05.975 1:05.435 1:05.605 21
09 31 Esteban Ocon        Force India Mercedes        1:06.033 1:05.550 1:05.674 22
10 55 Carlos Sainz        Toro Rosso                  1:05.675 1:05.544 1:05.726 23
11 27 Nico Hulkenberg     Renault                     1:06.174 1:05.597          16
12 14 Fernando Alonso     McLaren Honda               1:06.158 1:05.602          14
13  2 Stoffel Vandoorne   McLaren Honda               1:06.316 1:05.741          14
14 26 Daniil Kvyat        Toro Rosso                  1:05.990 1:05.884          16
15 20 Kevin Magnussen     Haas Ferrari                1:06.143                   6
16 30 Jolyon Palmer       Renault                     1:06.345                   10
17 19 Felipe Massa        Williams Mercedes           1:06.534                   8
18 18 Lance Stroll        Williams Mercedes           1:06.608                   11
19  9 Marcus Ericsson     Sauber Ferrari              1:06.857                   12
20 94 Pascal Wehrlein     Sauber Ferrari              1:07.011                   11


Click here for our Austrian competition and a chance to win shoes from the MV collection!