Spielberg bei Knittelfeld (Austria) (AFP)

"As perfect as I can be under these conditions": Lewis Hamilton delivered a demonstration in the rain to take pole position on Saturday in the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Styria, on the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, in Austria.

In conditions unanimously considered very difficult, with little visibility and a lot of water on the track, the Briton of Mercedes widened a considerable gap of 1 sec 216/1000 on his dolphin, the Dutchman of Red Bull Max Verstappen.

"A performance from another world," said the boss of the Silver Arrows, Toto Wolff.

"This last lap was fantastic," said Hamilton. "I'm really very satisfied. It was so tricky! Half the time, you couldn't even see where you were going. But I love days like that!"

It must be said that over the seasons, the rain has often been invited when it was necessary for the six-time world champion, as to offer him, at Monza in 2017, this 79th pole in F1 which made him the record holder some exercice.

This time, it allows him to erase an Austrian Grand Prix - the first of the 2020 season - frustrating last week on the same circuit, already without spectators in the stands due to the coronavirus pandemic.

To start his campaign for the record seven world titles for German Michael Schumacher, Hamilton had to settle for fourth place after having received two penalties, on the starting grid and in the race.

- The best qualifications of Sainz -

Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr (McLaren), the author of his best qualifications to date, and Finnish Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), winner of the inaugural GP, will start behind the Briton and Verstappen at 3.10 p.m. (1.10 p.m. GMT) on Sunday. Dry this time, according to the weather forecast.

On the French side, Esteban Ocon (Renault) and Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) will be fifth and seventh on the grid, but their compatriot Romain Grosjean (Haas) 20th and last after leaving the track at the very start of qualifying.

At Ferrari, the Scuderia is still struggling: the German Sebastian Vettel tenth and his Monegasque teammate Charles Leclerc eleventh.

The qualifying session started 45 minutes late because of the rain that fell on the circuit since Saturday morning. Free practice 3, which was scheduled to take place between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m., was even canceled.

The F1 season, which begins behind closed doors and is more than three months behind schedule due to the Covid-19, will continue next week in Budapest, Hungary.

For the many Britons in the paddock (seven stables are based in Great Britain), it will be in even more restrictive conditions than for ten days in Austria.

Indeed, the Hungarian authorities have decided to limit their travel, and that of people from countries outside the European Union and the European Economic Area, their accommodation on the circuit only, under penalty of "imprisonment and / or fines of up to around 15,000 euros ".

© 2020 AFP