Styria – Qualifications: in the rain, Hamilton takes a commanding pole position ahead of Verstappen and Sainz… Ocon 5th!

Held under rainy weather conditions (that’s an understatement), the second qualifying session of 2020 was a constant battle. Lasting a little over 1 hour 45 minutes, for 45 effective minutes, because of the water streams formed on the Red Bull Ring, it was ultimately Lewis Hamilton who showcased the most skill by securing pole position on his final flying lap!

Q3: Hamilton a second and two-tenths ahead of Verstappen… Ocon 5th, Gasly 8th!

Under rain that intensified compared to Q2, the 10 qualifiers completed laps to achieve a better time, all equipped with rain tires. It was Lewis Hamilton who claimed his first pole in 2020, the 89th of his career, with a time of 1:19.273.

Second, Max Verstappen had set the best time with 2 minutes remaining. But the Dutchman spun just before the last corner of his final lap! The gap with Hamilton is huge: +1.216!

Max leads them out in Q3…

It’s so wet out there!#AustrianGP ???????? #F1 pic.twitter.com/p6xyJj278M

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 11, 2020

At one second and three-tenths (+1.398), Carlos Sainz jumped into third place in the final moments, with a strong lap from the McLaren driver as well.

Poleman last Saturday, disappointment on the other hand for Bottas, only 4th this time, relegated to almost a second and a half behind Hamilton! On the clock, the Finn was left behind on the final lap, even though he was still vying for pole 5 minutes from the end.

Another pleasant surprise from the qualifications was Esteban Ocon in his Renault. Consistently among the top positions on the leaderboard throughout the three sessions, the Frenchman completed his Q3 with a very good time and a fifth place!

Second at the finish last weekend, Lando Norris ended Q3 in sixth position: but the Briton from McLaren will drop three places this Sunday after overtaking Gasly under yellow flag conditions during free practice.

Seventh, Alexander Albon ahead of the other Frenchman Pierre Gasly (impressive in his AlphaTauri) and Daniel Ricciardo, all will move up one position on the grid. 10th and last driver classified for Q3, Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari, which didn’t perform well, even on a wet track.

Q2: Leclerc out, Ocon and Gasly in Q3!

For the second Grand Prix of the season, Charles Leclerc will start even further back than he did a week ago: the Ferrari driver got stuck in Q2. Ironically, the Monegasque was held up this time by Vettel, the last to qualify in Q3 with a 10th place. Behind Leclerc’s SF1000, an unexpected car: the Williams of George Russell, who clinched the 12th position and the team’s first Q2 since a long time (no Q2 in 2019!).

Also eliminated at the Red Bull Ring were Stroll’s Racing Point, Daniil Kvyat’s AlphaTauri, lagging behind Gasly, and the surviving Haas of Magnussen, who couldn’t perform miracles in a difficult car.

#Q2 is over: #Seb5 qualified for #Q3. #Charles16 P11. Rain increased in the last minutes. #AustrianGP???????? pic.twitter.com/vd31xDmS0L

— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) July 11, 2020

Q1: Sergio Pérez eliminated right away!

Significantly less comfortable than Lance Stroll, the Mexican Racing Point driver did not make it past Q1, finishing 2 seconds behind his teammate. Just ahead of him, Kimi Räikkönen, the F1 veteran (40 years old). Behind Pérez, Nicholas Latifi, the Williams driver… who was having his very first session in a Formula 1 car in the rain. Among the disappointments, Antonio Giovinazzi finished Q1 in 19th place, the last of the drivers with a time. The Italian even caused a red flag at the end of the session, tearing off the rear of his Alfa Romeo with an off-track excursion just before the last corner.

Launched with a 45-minute delay, the first qualifying session saw the very first laps in the rain for the 2020 F1 cars. Once again at a disadvantage, Romain Grosjean completed only one lap before returning, stuck in the garage, after an initial excursion into the gravel at the third corner. The Haas driver experienced an exchanger problem this time, with a car that wasn’t recovering energy. The disaster continues for the Frenchman!

With just under two mins to go in Q1, Giovinazzi slid off track, damaging his car. A Red Flag resulted, ending the session.#AustrianGP ???????? #F1 pic.twitter.com/itOXS6Ht2f

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 11, 2020

Here is the complete ranking of this qualifying session!