Max Verstappen claimed pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix with an immense lap here. But his mastery of the circuit stood in stark contrast to a woeful showing from the Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, who ended the day with their cars in the barriers.
For Mercedes a long weekend lies ahead after they suffered a disastrous afternoon in Spielberg. Hamilton crashed out in Q3, taking a major impact and shortly afterwards Russell did likewise. Fortunately neither was hurt after uncharacteristic errors. Hamilton finished ninth and Russell fourth. A setback for the team who had been hoping to build on the improvement shown at the British GP.
