By Matt Morlidge
Last Updated: 08/07/22 5:28pm
Max Verstappen took pole in Austrian GP qualifying as both Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell dramatically crashed out in Q3 to ruin what appeared genuine chances of battling for the top positions.
With drivers fighting for grid places for Saturday’s Sprint race, Hamilton looked to have pace to compete for pole but lost control of his Mercedes car into Turn 7 and went skidding over the gravel and into the barriers.
With no time on the board, Hamilton will start only 10th in the Sprint.
Remarkably, Russell then caused another red flag on his next flying lap as he spun off into the barriers at the final corner, prompting anguish down in the Mercedes garage as they missed out on a huge opportunity.
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A terrible day for Mercedes as minutes after Lewis Hamilton crashed George Russell followed during Q3 at the Austrian Grand Prix
Those stoppages left just two minutes on the clock and time for one final flying lap.
Verstappen was leading heading into a chaotic finale but Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz both went faster than the Red Bull to raise Ferrari hopes of a one-two.
However, Verstappen kept his nerve on his last lap to post a 1:04.9, just 29 thousandths of a second quicker than Leclerc.
Verstappen’s lap led to huge cheers from his Dutch orange army at Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring.
More to follow.