Max Verstappen took pole position for today’s sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday after another public spat between his father and “childish” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. The 26-year-old Dutchman outpaced nearest rival Lando Norris of McLaren in the final seconds of a frantic session to take the prime starting place and delight hordes of his ‘orange army’ of fans at the Red Bull Ring. His best lap in one minute and 4.
686 seconds lifted him 0.093 seconds clear of Norris in hot conditions in the Styrian Alps. “It’s good to be first here in front of all my home fans and in our home Grand Prix,” said Verstappen, who leads Norris by 69 points as he targets a fourth straight world title.
“It’s been a good day so far and it’s nice to drive the car. It feels well-balanced and we only needed a few adjustments so all is going well. “I’m not concerned about things and feel relaxed.
Let’s see what happens tomorrow.” He added: “It’s a positive day and the car is strong and all is going well so it’s been a good start to the weekend. Hopefully I can keep it going tomorrow.
” Earlier Horner had brushed off comments by Verstappen’s father Jos. Verstappen senior was back in the paddock for the first time since Bahrain, where he said the team was in danger of being “torn apart” if Horner kept his job following allegations of controlling behaviour by a female member of staff. Horner had earlier irked Verstappen senior who claimed he.