Event of the Day: Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix
Our event of the day is the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes qualified in pole position in Saturday’s qualifying with a lap time of 1:03.130. The Finn will try and repeat his feat from last season where he triumphed from pole. He is still looking for his first victory of the 2018 season. The winner of the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton, came second with a gap of just 0.019s behind his team mate. Ferrari duo, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen locked out the second row of the grid, but the German later received a three-place penalty for impeding Renault’s Carlos Sainz in Q2 and will start in sixth as Scuderia Ferrari search for their first win in Austria since 2003.
Vettel’s penalty moved Max Verstappen up to fourth place, which is a small consolation for Red Bull Racing on their home track, as their drivers struggled with pace and had a misunderstanding over qualifying strategy. Daniel Ricciardo had a tough day and will start from seventh place. However, the Haas F1 team had a good Saturday with Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen qualifying in fifth and eighth, respectively. Sainz and Nico Hülkenberg of Renault complete the top ten on the grid. Four-time champions, Hamilton and Vettel, hold the first two places in the drivers’ championship and have three wins each from the eight races so far. The British reigning champion has the lead with 145 points, while the German has 131. Will they manage to beat Bottas at the Red Bull Ring or will the championship become more open?
Honourable mentions around the globe go to the FIFA World Cup matches of the knock-out stages. In today’s last 16 games, there are two big clashes taking place – Spain will take on hosts Russia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow after which Croatia will face Denmark at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in Nizhny Novgorod. In cricket, in the Tri-Nation T20 Women’s Series final, England Women come up against New Zealand Women at the County Ground in Chelmsford. Zimbabwe and Pakistan clash in the 1st match of the Zimbabwe T20 Tri-Series at Harare Sports Club in Harare (Australia are the third team in the competition.) It’s the fourth and final day of both, the European Tour’s HNA Open de France at Le Golf National in Guyancourt and the PGA’s Quicken Loans National at the TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm in Potomac. The Dutch Moto GP takes place at the TT Circuit Assen in Assen. In MLB, the St. Louis Cardinals matchup with the Atlanta Braves at the Busch Stadium in St. Louis. In the AFL, Essendon host North Melbourne at the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne. Meanwhile, in the NRL, the Tigers will take on the Titans at the Leichhardt Oval in Sydney. Elsewhere in football, in the MLS, Toronto FC face the New York Red Bulls at the BMO Field in Toronto.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Photos by Formula 1