Verstappen secures pole position and aims for his third victory in a row at Austrian GP

Max Verstappen is aiming for his third consecutive win of the season at the Austrian Grand Prix. The world championship leader will start from pole position, with McLaren driver Lando Norris alongside him. George Russel took third with his Mercedes. It is the 40th pole of his career.

Verstappen was in a class of his own this weekend, as he won the sprint race from pole position and set the best time in free practice on Friday. "Every lap went well. It's been a while since we've been on pole, and that's a great sign. Hopefully, it will be a nice battle on Sunday," Verstappen said after qualifying on Saturday.

The Dutch driver handled the track perfectly despite the high temperatures. "Of course, the track is a bit warmer than yesterday so it made it all a bit trickier to drive. But the car felt a lot better for me today, I could really attack the corners a bit more and it was just… Every run was just on point and it was very enjoyable out there," he told F1.

He was over 0.4 seconds faster than Norris in qualifying when it was well over 30 degrees. Verstappen is on 227 points in the championship standings, and Norris follows with 156 points.

The race takes place on Sunday at 3 p.m. Verstappen was the best at the Red Bull Ring last year. He also triumphed there in 2018, 2019 and 2021.