Max Verstappen secured a dominant pole position for the sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver qualified almost half a second ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez, with Lando Norris taking third place for McLaren. It was a disappointing session for Mercedes, as Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in the first session (SQ1) and will start in 18th position. George Russell, also from Mercedes, encountered a hydraulic issue and was unable to participate in SQ2.
The qualifying session took place on a drying track, with the mandatory medium tire requirement in SQ1 being removed due to wet conditions. Lap times were slower compared to Friday’s practice sessions due to dampness on the track. Charles Leclerc may face a penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri at Turn 9, as the incident will be investigated after the session.
In SQ3, Verstappen set an impressive lap time of 1:04.613 to secure pole position, followed by Perez and Norris. Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg completed the top six. The sprint race grid will feature an all Red Bull front row, with Verstappen leading the way.
The full sprint shootout grid for the Austrian Grand Prix is as follows:
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
- Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
- Alexander Albon (Williams)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
- Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
- Logan Sargeant (Williams)
