Verstappen demonstrated his superiority in qualifying at the Red Bull Ring on Saturday. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri acknowledged that Verstappen’s exceptional performance in a single lap at the Austrian Grand Prix serves as a reality check for the rest of the competition. Verstappen’s impressive time in Q3 gave him a significant five-tenth advantage over Lando Norris from McLaren, who finished in second place. Red Bull’s dominance in qualifying was unexpected, as they had not secured pole position in the past three races. Even in the Sprint Qualifying, Norris was only 0.093s behind Verstappen, indicating a potential challenge to his pace. However, Piastri admitted that Verstappen’s gap highlights Red Bull’s continued superiority. Piastri stated, “His lap in Q2 was a bit of a reality check for everyone. And he could repeat it in Q3. The gap seemed to be a little bit bigger in that session for whatever reason and clearly they are still the force to beat. Max looked to be a step ahead of everyone then. But it seems very tight between us Mercedes and Ferrari, I would say.” Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, was amazed by Red Bull’s exceptional performance in high-speed corners compared to his Mercedes. Hamilton finished in sixth place and noted that Red Bull was 12-13kph faster in high-speed sections, which he found astonishing. Despite their struggles, McLaren boss Andrea Stella praised Verstappen’s consistent performance and acknowledged his ability to consistently deliver strong results. Stella stated, “Everyone is within a small lap time delta and depending on the conditions, on the track layout, one has a little bit of an edge compared to the other three. Certainly, there’s something that is pretty consistent: it’s just Max Verstappen. He always does a good job.”
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