[ad_1]
Championship leader Max Verstappen says he knows it won’t be ‘easy’ to beat Lewis Hamilton after qualifying for the Styrian Grand Prix, despite snatching pole position at the Red Bull Ring, but admits it’s nice to be on top at the team’s home circuit.
The Dutchman set a blistering time of 1:03.841s around the Red Bull Ring, two tenths faster than Valtteri Bottas who set a 1:04.035s with Hamilton behind on a 1:04.067.
The Mercedes driver was quick out of the pit at the start of Q3, an unusual move for a driver in his position, but only mustered a third fastest time, behind his team-mate Bottas, who will drop to fifth after receiving a penalty in practice.
And Verstappen was pleased with his performance, with his team-mate Sergio Perez starting fourth behind Lando Norris in third.
“It’s been a very good weekend, I think, again in qualifying, of course, the car was was really good to drive,” said Verstappen.
“It was not easy to deal with the traffic in the last few corners to get a clean run but I think that first lap in Q3 was good enough at the end.
DON’T MISS:
Lewis Hamilton ready for a ‘fight’ as he rues Max Verstappen’s pace
[ad_2]
