Austria pole a 'good statement' for Red Bull – Verstappen

Max Verstappen said Red Bull made a "good statement" after he secured pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Verstappen, who won the sprint race earlier on Saturday, qualified ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris to take his first pole in four races.

The reigning Formula One world champion was in fine form throughout the session, and will now go for a record-extending fifth Austrian Grand Prix victory.

Verstappen has recorded the most podium finishes (six) and the most fastest laps (four) at the Austrian Grand Prix, and has now also taking the outright most pole positions (four) at the race.

"The whole session went really well. The car was in a better window and I could push a bit more and it was very enjoyable. Every lap I did was feeling good," the Dutchman said.

"It's been a while since we were on pole, and a while since I felt like this in the car, and it's great. The team has been working hard to make the car more competitive and it's a good statement.

"Hopefully it will be a tight battle again but I am not thinking too much about that. I am just thinking about how the car was performing today and hopefully it will translate into race pace."

The Dutch fans are in fine voice this weekend #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/Apdo3wrl7F
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 29, 2024

The Austrian Grand Prix winner has started on the front row on nine of the last 11 occasions (six from pole and three from second).

Norris, who was third in the sprint race, finished ahead of Mercedes George Russell to secure second place behind Verstappen.

He said: "It was as much as we could do. Max was in a league of his own. [He had] more than what we had. Tricky conditions."

Lewis Hamilton secured fifth on the grid, and his hopeful Mercedes can challenge on Sunday.

"All these guys are so quick. It's very close between us all," he said.

"I'm relatively happy with my lap. The middle sector was not as good as I would have liked. If I had got those two perfect would probably have been in the top three but it’s very hard to get a lap.

"We can fight the Ferraris but I don't know if we can fight the McLarens. We'll have to see."