FORMULA 1

LCH PROVES HE’S STILL THE MASTER IN THE WET WITH POLE FOR THE STYRIAN GRAND PRIX

LCH finished a staggering 1.2 seconds clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the Red Bull Ring to underline his class in such appalling weather.

McLaren’s Carlos Sainz will line up a superb third ahead of the driver who claimed pole and the race win at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix in Valtteri Bottas, with Renault’s Esteban Ocon fifth.

Lando Norris in his McLaren will start sixth, followed by Alex Albon in his Red Bull and Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly, with the Frenchman ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in his Renault and Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.

The Briton was simply outstanding, with his final lap, in particular, on another level to finish so far ahead of Verstappen, who may have gained ground with his closing lap as he had set personal bests in the first two sectors, only to lose grip approaching the final turn and slide off the track.

From early lap times on the extreme wet tyres of around one minute and 24 seconds, come the conclusion of Q1 the leaders had managed to shave six seconds off that time, with Hamilton leading the way with a 1:18.188.

For the second consecutive week, a Ferrari failed to make it out of Q2, with Charles Leclerc the driver falling by the wayside, missing out by 0.083secs to team-mate Vettel.