Saturday's action begins in Austria with the sprint shootout, the new 2023 format that will decide the starting grid for this afternoon's sprint. Let's go over everything that happened in this session.
SQ1: First twist
Already in the first segment of the session, the SQ1, we have the first big elimination. Lewis HamiltonIn fact, he sees his time canceled due to track limits and will leave in 18th position in this afternoon's sprint. Excellent work by Sainz, who took first place with just one flying lap. Also eliminated Zhou (P16), Piastres (P17), Bottas (P19), Sergeant (P20).
SQ2: Nightmare Austria for Mercedes
The bad day continues for the Mercedes Benz also in SQ2: George Russell he is unable to get on track due to a problem with his W14 and will start from 15esimo place. Besides him, they are also eliminated Albon (P11), gasly (P12), tsunoda (P13) e De Vries (P14). Both Gasly and Tsunoda complain a lot about the traffic, which seems to be a constant of this session so far.
DQ3: Verstappen on pole
The SQ3 confirms the undisputed king of the last period: for the umpteenth time, it is Max Verstappen to close in front of everyone. His teammate, Sergio Perez, returns with him to the front row after 4 qualifying sessions outside the top 10. Lando's excellent moment also continues Norris, third, and Nico Hulkenberg, bedroom.
The Ferraris monopolize the third row, with Sainz fifth e Leclerc sixth. A step back from the best double top 3 yesterday afternoon. Fourth row all Aston Martin, with Alonso seventh e Stroll eighth. They close the top 10 Or with (P9) e Magnussen (P10). The appointment is at 16pm for the sprint!
