After yesterday’s Qualifying that set the grid for tomorrow’s Grand Prix, the drivers were at it again as they looked to put themselves as high up as possible for this afternoon’s Sprint race.
SQ1
In Sprint Qualifying 1; Zhou Guanyu, Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, and Logan Sargeant were the five slowest drivers. Luck was once again not on Zhou Guanyu’s side as the Chinese driver missed out on a place in SQ2 by just 1 thousandth of a second. Oscar Piastri did not have a good session at all in his McLaren whilst Lewis Hamilton had a horrific session which sees him line up 18th for the Sprint. Valtteri Bottas just didn’t have enough pace to get himself into SQ2 whilst Logan Sargeant made a mistake in the final two corners which cost him a spot in the second part of the Sprint Shootout. Carlos Sainz managed to top SQ1 after a sensational lap.
SQ2
In Sprint Qualifying 2; Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda, Nyck de Vries, and George Russell all failed to make it into the top 10 shootout. Alex Albon will be slightly disappointed to miss out on an appearance in SQ3, but he once again proved that he’s a really talented driver whilst Pierre Gasly seemed visibly angry at failing to make it into the top 10. Yuki Tsunoda did a solid job to put his Alpha Tauri in 13th whilst teammate Nyck de Vries performed better to put his car alongside his teammate at the start of the Sprint. It was then more disaster for Mercedes as George Russell suffered a hydraulics issue which saw him take no part in SQ2. Max Verstappen topped this session.
SQ3
In Sprint Qualifying 3, Max Verstappen pulled out a 1:04.440 to take Pole position by just under 5 tenths! Max continues to prove that he and Red Bull are going to continue to be almost impossible to stop. Sergio Perez will line up alongside his teammate for today’s Sprint which is much better whilst Lando Norris put in another star performance to get his McLaren up into P3. Nico Hulkenberg also had another sensational performance as he managed to get his Haas into P4 whilst Carlos Sainz will have mixed emotions over the session. Charles Leclerc struggled the entire Sprint Shootout session and he could only manage 6th whilst Fernando Alonso headed Lance Stroll this time around as Aston Martin just don’t look like they have the pace to compete for a Podium this weekend. Esteban Ocon will be satisfied yet frustrated with P9 in his Alpine whilst Kevin Magnussen will also be feeling a similar way about finishing 10th.
Starting Grid for the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint and my Sprint Shootout Grades
Max Verstappen: 10
Sergio Perez: 8
Lando Norris: 10
Nico Hulkenberg: 10
Carlos Sainz: 7
Charles Leclerc: 6
Fernando Alonso: 6
Lance Stroll: 5
Esteban Ocon: 7
Kevin Magnussen: 7
Alex Albon: 7
Pierre Gasly: 4
Yuki Tsunoda: 5
Nyck de Vries: 4
George Russell: -
Zhou Guanyu: 3
Oscar Piastri: 2
Lewis Hamilton: 1
Valtteri Bottas: 1
Logan Sargeant: 1
My Predictions for the Austrian Sprint
Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez
Carlos Sainz
Lando Norris
Charles Leclerc
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