Saturday, June 26th 2021
Verstappen warns
Vettel hopes for rain and good ideas
Max Verstappen has high hopes for the qualification for the Grand Prix of Styria. But world champion Lewis Hamilton lurks behind him. Sebastian Vettel is hoping for a “nice change” from above.
Max Verstappen does not want to know anything about the clear favorite role. “I think it will be a very close fight again,” said the Formula 1 front runner before qualifying for the Styrian Grand Prix. This Saturday (3 p.m. / Sky and in the live ticker on ntv.de) the 23-year-old would like to race to pole position and secure an advantage for the race a day later. The worst adversary will once again be world champion Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes. “We expect both teams to be right at the front again,” said the Dutch Red Bull driver.
At the start, Verstappen was officially twice fastest in training on Friday. But actually Hamilton was once ahead. Just because the 36-year-old Brit went too far off the track, his best time was canceled. “So it looks a little different than it seems,” said Verstappen, who can win in Austria for the third time after 2018 and 2019. Just like Hamilton, who is twelve points behind in the overall standings before the eighth round of the season and last triumphed in the Alps last year.
Rain or thunderstorm? The main thing is variety
It seems unlikely that anyone else will join the fight for victory. However, the constantly changing weather conditions could add even more excitement. According to forecasts, it could rain on Saturday, and even thunderstorms seem possible at the Grand Prix itself. “It changes all the time, so we’ll have to wait and see what it really looks like in the end,” said 13-time Grand Prix winner Verstappen. A forecast of heavy rain on Friday was not confirmed in training.
“A nice change” called Sebastian Vettel possible rain showers. You could help the four-time world champion move forward. Although the 33-year-old made a good impression in training in the Aston Martin, he should show his skills even more on a wet track, as the performance of the cars is no longer so important. “Most recently, the Heppenheimer made it into the points three times and even returned to the podium in second place in Baku.
“We have a few good ideas where we can improve. That is important,” said Vettel: “I think we had an acceptable start to the weekend.” Mick Schumacher, on the other hand, is unlikely to get past the first section of qualifying in the Haas racing car and will start the race again from far behind. The 22-year-old is still without a World Cup counter in his Formula 1 debut year.
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