Lando Norris dominates in F1 Austrian GP pole, as Charles Leclerc split McLaren drivers in second, with Oscar Piastri in third.
Q1:
The first part in F1 Austrian GP qualifying at Red Bull Ring was delayed due to late ending of F2 sprint race. Once it got going, it was McLaren 1-2 with Lando Norris (1m04.672s) ahead of Oscar Piastri. While Visa Cash App RB’s rounded out the Top 3 after a late quick lap.
The Top 20 ended up being covered by 0.934s in a close field where Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m105.329s) missed Q2 by 0.051s margin in 16th, with Haas’ Esteban Ocon (1m05.364s) in 17th. The big fishes to be knocked out were Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’ Carlos Sainz.
The Japanese driver set a 1m05.369s lap, with the Spaniard setting a 1m05.582s lap. Both the drivers complained of balance issues, with Sainz noting that the car was undividable. Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the Top 20 runners after his 1m05.606s lap.
Q2:
The second part in F1 Austrian GP qualifying was red-flagged after the first run was completed. The grass caught fire in the final corner after Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton ran over it at the end of his fast lap. Much like Tsunoda, teammate Max Verstappen complained of an undividable car.
It was Norris on top again with a 1m04.410s lap from Paistri, who were long way ahead of the rest, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third. The dropzone saw Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso miss out Q3 by 0.066s in 11th after his 1m05.128s lap, with Williams’ Alexander Albon (1m05.205s) in 12th.
Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar (1m05.226s) was knocked out as well in 13th ahead of Alpine’s Franco Colapinto (1m05.288s) and Haas’ Oliver Bearman (1m05.312s), where all of the 15 cars were covered within 0.902s margin. An impeding incident between Norris and Leclerc was noted, which was cleared.
Q3:
The final part in F1 Austrian GP qualifying saw Norris secure provisional pole with a 1m04.269s lap as Leclerc slotted in second to split the two McLaren F1 drivers after Piastri made small error on his first quick lap. Hamilton backed his teammate in fourth from Mercedes’ George Russell.
The Brit was noted for unsafe release, as Verstappen was a bit way off in sixth. The second run saw Norris improve further to set a 1m03.971s lap and secure F1 pole in Austrian GP. He was the only one to dip in the 1m03s barrier, to finish 0.521s quicker than Leclerc (1m04.492s), who was second.
Piastri was hurt by yellow flag to remain third after he was unable to improve. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly spun in the final corner to cause a brief yellow, which also seemingly affected Verstappen (1m04.929s) to end up seventh. Leclerc was backed by teammate Hamilton in fourth after his 1m04.582s lap.
Russell (1m04.763s) maintained fifth from Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson (1m04.926s) in a good show. The Kiwi ended up ahead of Verstappen, whose slipstream helped Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto (1m05.132s) to be eighth, with Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli (1m05276s) ninth and Gasly (1m05.649s) 10th.
UPDATE: Mercedes was reprimanded, while Russell was warned for mistakenly entering the fast lane in Q3 with cars approaching. It was a slip from the Brit, who was trying to communicate on the radio. Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1938996248121328086
