Verstappen's Red Bull fails ahead of Austria qualifying

Max Verstappen ground to a halt in the closing stages of FP3 with a suspected electronics or hydraulic failure, giving the Red Bull man a headache ahead of qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. Verstappen reported a total loss of power while going through final preparations for Saturday's shootout.

Problems for @Max33Verstappen

???? "The engine just suddenly turned off"#AustrianGP ???????? #F1 pic.twitter.com/rayp3GmwKd — Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2018

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A frustrating end to FP3 for @Max33Verstappen #AustrianGP ???????? #F1 pic.twitter.com/TRwUXJuuV8 — Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2018

Verstappen had gone fifth fastest in Saturday's session, with Red bull hoping to make an impression at their home grand prix.

However the mechanics will be put to the test yet again on a Saturday after Verstappen's car shut down entirely in the sessions' final 10 minutes.

It echoed a similar issue for Daniel Ricciardo in China - on that occasion Red Bull just managed to prepare the Australian's car for qualifying and he went on to win the race.

Verstappen has also suffered FP3 woe in Monaco this year, although that was more his own making as he crashed into barriers, forcing him to sit out qualifying on that occasion.

Sebastian Vettel ended Saturday's session top of the timesheets, in a lap-record time of one minute 4.070 seconds, with Lewis Hamilton just two hundredths of a second away from the Ferrari man.

Pole looks set to be a three-way fight, with Valtteri Bottas clocking a 1:04.204, with Kimi Raikkonen four tenths off his team-mate and the Red Bulls more than half a second away, with Haas in close attention in a potential fight for spots on the third row.