Who can stop Max Verstappen and Red Bull? When will his domain expire? No one has an answer. And worst of all for those who dream of equality and exciting battles for victory, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen anytime soon. “Verstappen and Red Bull are in a different league”, Fernando Alonso pointed out in a press conference. He prefers to focus on the fight for the podium against Mercedes and Ferrari. Good. In Canada he was not far, but in Austria, at the Red Bull Ring, running at the home of his team, Verstappen flew. His RB19 was turned into a rocket. With a track that fits like a glove, the Spielberg asphalt becomes an airstrip for Max to fly towards pole position. So Verstappen, at the age of 25 (September 30, 1997), added his 26th pole position, equaling Mika Hakkinen in the Top-10 of drivers with the most pole positions in history. And this Sunday, he has a free track to surpass the number of wins at least Ayrton Senna with what was his 42nd victory, slipping into the Top-5 of drivers with the most wins in history. Unbelievable. And what is to come.
Pérez, outside Q3; Ferrari, behind Max
The only ones that can come close to Max’s Red Bull are the Ferraris. Verstappen’s teammate, ‘Checo’ Pérez, dipped again and was left in Q3 for the fourth consecutive classification. The only one sharing weapons with Max, not only could he see her, but he was light years away. The one from Guadalajara suffered in the 3 previous classifications with rain or mixed conditions. This time, at the home of Red Bull, on dry asphalt, he exceeded the track limits on all his Q2 attack laps and his times were removed. He went from 2nd to 15th position in a classification that was a regret to watch at times due to the many laps taken out that occurred throughout the session. With gravel instead of asphalt holes, the function would have been different and the embarrassment would not have existed.
So, with no opposition on the other side of the box, Verstappen flew solo to pole position. Only the Ferraris tried to put him in trouble. But they didn’t do it. Carlos Sainz was better than Charles Leclerc throughout ‘qualification’, but the Monegasque grew again in Q3 and was only 48 thousandths of a second behind Max. Sainz was 3rd at 0″190 from the Dutchman.
Can Ferrari improve its race pace?
Once again, the Ferrari was a lightning-quick car in one lap of qualifying, but despite the new parts fitted in Barcelona, in Austria, the reds are not expected to tickle it. to Max on Sunday.
The question is to see if Ferrari can reproduce the improvement in race speed that they showed in Canada, because it could be an oasis in its desert due to the little damage that occurred on the Canadian track. In Spielberg, the Ferraris will have their answer. Sainz was 2nd in Barcelona and had to lift his foot because if he pushed he would have run out of tires. Those in red in Austria hope that film will change or at least improve to fight for the podium with their two pilots.
Alonso, 7th, had to come back
In 4th position was Lando Norris who showed great speed with a McLaren with many improvements (at 0″267). Hamilton was 5th with Mercedes at 0″428 and Lance Stroll 6th , at 0″502. The Canadian, who overtook Fernando Alonso for the first time in ‘qualification’ in Barcelona, behind the best one lap and the fight for the podium is complicated.
It should have better tire wear than racing Ferraris and the Aston Martin’s great strength is racing speed. But starting 7th, the search for his 7th podium in 9 races will be complicated with an appointment on Sunday where he will have to face Hamilton again and where it will be necessary to see how the team manages the starting position of Stroll, which is just starting. ahead.
In Barcelona, a bad ‘qualification’ conditioned Fernando Alonso’s race, although on that occasion he was affected by low temperatures. On Sunday, in Spielberg, the chance of rain is low and Fernando will have to take advantage of the theoretical speed of his car to score as many points as possible with two clear goals: the fight against Mercedes for second place in the manufacturer and cut points to Pérez for runner-up in the world, which is not few.
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Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
