Austrian Grand Prix: Norris Takes Pole

      Sunny. Dry. Air temperature +28°C, track temperature +48…47°C

      The eternal problem with qualifying in Spielberg is traffic. The short and narrow track cannot accommodate twenty cars or provide drivers with equal chances. Before their fast laps, everyone tried to leave a gap ahead by slowing down, hoping to have some clear track, but this time “traffic jams” in the final corner were avoided.

      Grid position in Spielberg is very important – here, the winners have always started from the first two rows. In the last ten Grands Prix at the Red Bull Ring, the pole-sitter has won six times. In the last five races, Max Verstappen has won every time from pole.

      This time, Lando Norris led the practice sessions, setting a lap on Saturday morning faster than Verstappen’s pole time last year. Pirelli brought the “soft” trio of compounds but, this time, without the experimental C6 – just the usual C3, C4, and C5 as Hard, Medium, and Soft.

      The first session was delayed by five minutes due to the prolonged Formula 2 sprint. All drivers went out on Soft tires.

      Piastri ruined his attempt by running off into the gravel at Turn 4 but continued and improved his time.

      On the first run, Norris was fastest – 1:04.672 – and nobody could beat that result. Stroll, Ocon, Tsunoda, Sainz, and Hulkenberg were eliminated. For the third consecutive weekend, Yuki was knocked out in the first qualifying session.

      In the second session, everyone again went out on Soft. Piastri set a new benchmark with 1:04.556, but Norris went quicker – 1:04.410.

      With 05:42 left, the session was red-flagged to allow for extinguishing grass that caught fire in the last corner. Drivers returned to the pits.

      After the pause, Norris remained the leader. Alonso, Albon, Hadjar, Colapinto, and Bearman did not make it to the final.

      In Q3, everyone used Softs. Russell was released unsafely from the pit, inadvertently impeding the Ferrari drivers and Verstappen.

      On his first attempt, Norris immediately set the session’s best lap – 1:04.268. Lawson did not complete his lap, aborting the attempt.

      On his second run, Norris went even faster – 1:03.971 – while the others slowed down due to yellow flags after Gasly spun, losing over five tenths.

      Lando Norris won qualifying in Spielberg, taking his third pole of the season and the 12th of his career. Tomorrow, Charles Leclerc will share the front row with him, while Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton start from the second row.

      Max Verstappen only qualified seventh, and Gabriel Bortoleto reached Q3 for the first time in his career and will start eighth.

      Qualifying Results

      Driver

       Team

       Session 1

       Session 2

       Session 3

      

      P

       Time

       Laps

       P

       Time

       Laps

       P

       Time

       Laps

      

      1. L. Norris

       McLaren

       1

       1:04.672

       6

       1

       1:04.410

       6

       1

       1:03.971

       6

      

      2. C. Leclerc

       Ferrari

       12

       1:05.197

       6

       3

       1:04.734

       9

       2

       1:04.492

       6

      

      3. O. Piastri

       McLaren

       2

       1:04.966

       8

       2

       1:04.556

       6

       3

       1:04.554

       5

      

      4. L. Hamilton

       Ferrari

       7

       1:05.115

       6

       8

       1:04.896

       9

       4

       1:04.582

       6

      

      5. G. Russell

       Mercedes

       11

       1:05.189

       6

       7

       1:04.860

       6

       5

       1:04.763

       6

      

      6. L. Lawson

       Racing Bulls

       3

       1:05.017

       6

       9

       1:05.041

       6

       6

       1:04.926

       5

      

      7. M. Verstappen

       Red Bull

       6

       1:05.106

       6

       4

       1:04.836

       6

       7

       1:04.929

       6

      

      8. G. Bortoleto

       Sauber

       8

       1:05.123

       9

       5

       1:04.846

       6

       8

       1:05.132

       6

      

      9. K. Antonelli

       Mercedes

       10

       1:05.178

       6

       10

       1:05.052

       6

       9

       1:05.276

       5

      

      10. P. Gasly

       Alpine

       4

       1:05.054

       9

       6

       1:04.846

       6

       10

       1:05.649

       6

      

      11. F. Alonso

       Aston Martin

       13

       1:05.197

       8

       11

       1:05.128

       6

      

      12. A. Albon

       Williams

       9

       1:05.143

       10

       12

       1:05.205

       8

      

      13. A. Hadjar

       Racing Bulls

       5

       1:05.063

       6

       13

       1:05.226

       6

      

      14. F. Colapinto

       Alpine

       15

       1:05.278

       9

       14

       1:05.288

       6

      

      15. O. Bearman

       Haas

       14

       1:05.218

       9

       15

       1:05.312

       6

      

      16. L. Stroll

       Aston Martin

       16

       1:05.329

       9

      

      17. E. Ocon

       Haas

       17

       1:05.364

       9

      

      18. Y. Tsunoda

       Red Bull

       18

       1:05.369

       6

      

      19. C. Sainz

       Williams

       19

       1:05.582

       12

      

      20. N. Hulkenberg

       Sauber

       20

       1:05.606

       9