STYRIA GP QUALIFYING : HAMILTON SIGNS 89TH POLE

Lewis Hamilton signed 89th pole position in his Formula 1 career this Saturday afternoon at the Red Bull Ring circuit.

Styria GP Qualifying : Lewis Hamilton signs 89th pole. Lewis has clinched pole position for the Styrian Grand Prix, finishing 1.2 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

All three qualifying sessions were held in wet conditions after the session delayed by 46 minutes from its originally designated time.

Hamilton’s challenge from Max Verstappen in Q3 evaporated when the Dutchman spun on his final hot lap on the exit of Turn 9.

The Red Bull driver will line up in second place on tomorrow’s grid ahead of former Toro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz, who managed to pull his McLaren into third place on the grid.

Last week’s pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas was fourth fastest in the other Mercedes, edging out Esteban Ocon who secured a top-five starting position at his second race weekend for Renault.

Alexander Albon found himself out-qualified by McLaren’s Lando Norris, however Norris will move down three places following a grid penalty he was dished on Friday.

Sebastian Vettel was the only Ferrari to make it into Q2, while his teammate Charles Leclerc was only 11th fastest at the end of Q2, meaning he didn’t advance into the last stage – continuing the ongoing woes for the Maranello-based squad.

Pierre Gasly was eighth for AlphaTauri ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Vettel, who will line-up alongside his teammate for Sunday’s race.

Williams progressed beyond Q1 for the first time since Brazil 2018, as George Russell battled the wet conditions to end the opening session in 12th.

The Briton would also end Q2 in the same position, setting a lap time that was only marginally down on Leclerc’s.

Only one driver made contact with the barriers during qualifying, as towards the end of Q1, Antonio Giovinazzi spun in his Alfa Romeo, damaging his rear wing at the second-to-last corner.

After he parked up, a red flag was deployed – eliminating teammate Kimi Raikkonen, Sergio Perez and Nicholas Latifi from qualifying.

Romain Grosjean failed to set a lap time, however he did take to the track early on in Q1, only to run wide onto the gravel at Turn 4 and return to the pits.

The race will get underway at 15:10 local time on Sunday, when it is expected to be completely dry.

THE 1000TH F1 RACE OF THE ITALIAN TEAM AT THE MUGELLO

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STYRIA GP QUALIFYING : HAMILTON SIGNS 89TH POLE STYRIA GP QUALIFYING : HAMILTON SIGNS 89TH POLE