Verstappen claims pole at Austrian GP sprint race

Max Verstappen, the reigning Formula One champion, secured pole position for Saturday's Austrian Grand Prix sprint race, much to the delight of his orange-clad Dutch fans.

Verstappen waited patiently as other drivers set the pace before unleashing a blistering lap of 1:04.686 seconds, edging out McLaren's Lando Norris by a mere 0.093 seconds. This victory marks Verstappen's eighth pole position in sprint races, solidifying his dominance in this format.

Joining Verstappen and Norris on the front row will be Oscar Piastri, another McLaren driver. The second row sees George Russell (Mercedes) lining up next to Ferrari's Carlos Sainz. Completing the top three will be Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) alongside Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez (Red Bull).

Disappointment struck Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who failed to set a lap time in the final qualifying phase due to a technical issue. This setback relegates him to a starting position of 10th. Sergio Perez, the other Red Bull driver, also faced a less-than-ideal qualifying, securing only a seventh-place start.

While Mercedes secured spots on the second and third rows, Lewis Hamilton expressed frustration with his performance, calling his afternoon "pretty disastrous." Both he and the team acknowledged the need for significant improvement ahead of the sprint race and Sunday's main Grand Prix.

Qualifying for the full Grand Prix will take place after the sprint race on Saturday.

Other Driver Standings

Kevin Magnussen (Haas) will start 11th, followed by Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin). Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) was again out-qualified by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), with Logan Sargeant (Williams) separating them in 15th place.