Verstappen sees off Leclerc for fourth pole in a row

Formula One leader Max Verstappen took pole position for Red Bull's home Austrian Grand Prix on Friday  (Jun 30) while team mate and closest title rival Sergio Perez had another nightmare and qualified only 15th.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will line up alongside Verstappen on the front row with team mate Carlos Sainz and McLaren's Lando Norris, in a newly upgraded car, immediately behind.

The pole was Verstappen's fourth in a row, while Perez, already 69 points behind Verstappen after eight races all won by Red Bull, failed to make the top 10 for the fourth race in succession.

The Mexican had been second fastest in phase two of qualifying, held on Friday because of the sprint weekend format, but had three laps deleted for failing to stay within the track limits at turns nine and 10.

Drivers have another qualifying on Saturday for a standalone 100 km sprint that no longer determines Sunday's grid under a new format introduced this season and first used in Azerbaijan in April.

Verstappen, winner of six races so far this season and chasing his fifth victory in a row on Sunday, said it had been hard to stay within the lines at Spielberg's Red Bull Ring, which has the shortest lap on the calendar in terms of time.

"We don't do it on purpose but with these speeds and the high-speed corners it's so hard to judge the white line," said the Dutch driver.

"It was about surviving ... it takes out the joy a little bit."

Verstappen's fastest time was one minute 04.391 seconds, the double world champion claiming provisional pole with his first effort in the final phase and then going faster to make absolutely sure of pole.

Leclerc, winner in Austria last year for Ferrari's most recent victory, was a mere 0.048 slower in a big boost for the