F1 really knows how to keep us on the edge of our seat, on a weekend where we have more drama than normal because of the Sprint, but to add to that we had an eventful qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring.
Qualifying set the grid for the Sprint later on today, which will then set the grid for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. The top eight from the sprint will score points, so it’s a good way to get up the field a bit more.
But it was Max Verstappen who took pole position infront of the Orange Army, but he was followed closely by the two Ferrari’s, Charles Leclerc in 2nd and our newest race winner, Carlos Sainz in third.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Russell, P5: Ocon, P6: Magnussen, P7: Schumacher, P8: Alonso, P9: Hamilton and P10: Gasly.
Sergio Perez, actually qualified P4, but after qualifying, it came out that he breached track limits in his Q2 lap, the stewards deleted that time, alongside his Q3 laps so he will now be starting 13th! Not a good start to his weekend, but this is where the Sprint comes into play, it gives the drivers an opportunity to get a little further up the grid.
Oh Mercedes… it was looking like pole for Lewis Hamilton, as he was strong in Q1 and Q2. But once again, things just don’t go that way in F1. Hamilton went into the barriers at Turn 7 to bring out a red flag in the middle of the session, leaving him 10th. George then thought he would add to the mix, with a spin and then crash at the final corner, however he had already put down a banker lap. Not a good start for the Mercs, but they can still have a good fight.
Both Haas’ in the top 10!! Wow, the car so far seems to like the track, definitely big points on offer for them this weekend, and it will be interesting to see if they can get their strategy right and optimise on other peoples misfortune.
Mr Alex Albon, starting P11 today, he only has to make up 3 places and he’ll score points… This is why part of me likes the Sprint, its for the teams who are close to scoring points on a normal weekend, but add the sprint into their they have more of a chance to score on Sunday.
Predictions-
My top five are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Russell, P4: Hamilton and P5: Ocon.
I feel like we are going to get a crazy sprint, later today and its going to cause carnage… But if it does happen, then we are in for a crazy race on Sunday.
Times for the weekend-
Saturday 9th-
- Sprint Race F3- 09:35am – 10:20am (BST)
- Free Practice 2 F1- 11:30am – 12:30pm
- Sprint F1- 15:30pm – 16:30pm
- Sprint Race F2- 16:55pm – 17:40pm
Sunday 10th-
- Feature Race F3- 07:35am (BST)
- Feature Race F2- 09:05am
- Race- 14:00pm
Jordan's Track Talk 
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