Verstappen takes pole: “We will attack Max immediately” – Alonso shines in qualifying

After Charles Leclerc was relegated due to his engine change, the question arose: Who can stop Red Bull in qualifying? Helmut Marko from Red Bull did not want to name any competitors. But before the competition he said: “Since Charles Leclerc starts at the back, it’s not tragic for us if we’re not at the front.”

Nevertheless, it was of course clear: the team around world champion Verstappen wanted to create a good starting position. However, Sergio Perez struggled with the wet track from the start. However, he managed to get into Q2 with one last fast lap. There he caused a red flag with an accident. The qualifying had to be interrupted for a short time. The Mexican will now start from 13th place. Teammate Verstappen managed to avert the attacks of all other opponents. Unsurprisingly he takes pole and will start from the front after all.

Alonso shines

The history of qualifying was written somewhat by the surprise teams. Both Haas made it into Q3, followed by Sauber rookie Zhou, who was also able to achieve a top result. The Chinese made it into Q3 for the first time in his career.

Fernando Alonso got the best classification next to Verstappen. The experienced driver was narrowly defeated by Red Bull and will now start from row 1 on Sunday – a gigantic result for the 40-year-old. He said after the race: “It’s a great feeling. The car was great in the wet conditions and the fans pushed me.” He announced with a smile. “We will attack Max in the first corners.”

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