No Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris secured the first two positions on the Formula 1 starting grid for the second consecutive Sunday at the Austrian Grand Prix. However, this time there was a role reversal, with Verstappen claiming a dominant pole position at the Red Bull Ring. He finished the qualifying session four tenths of a second faster than Norris, who had secured the pole position at the Spanish GP. George Russell managed to secure third place on the grid, benefiting from the exclusion of Oscar Piastri’s final lap time due to exceeding track limits.
McLaren tried to challenge the decision to exclude Piastri’s lap time, but their efforts were unsuccessful due to technical issues. This was just one of several decisions by the stewards after the session that did not result in any changes to the grid. Verstappen faced no action for “unnecessarily slow driving” to create a gap between himself and the cars ahead, as he did not impede anyone. Haas received a reprimand for not following the race director’s instructions to enter the fast lane in the pit lane, while Mercedes was fined €5000 for an unsafe release, as Lewis Hamilton left the garage with a lever and an exhaust extractor still attached.
As a result of Piastri’s lap time exclusion, he dropped from third to seventh place on the grid. Carlos Sainz, Hamilton, and Charles Leclerc moved up to fourth, fifth, and sixth place, respectively. Leclerc had a moment off track during his final flying lap of the session. Pierre Gasly, who initially qualified in twelfth place, had his lap time excluded for exceeding track limits at turn 6. This means he will start the race from thirteenth position, just behind Kevin Magnussen.
The classification was disappointing for Aston Martin, with both cars struggling for pace. Fernando Alonso will start the grand prix in fifteenth position, while Lance Stroll will have to recover from seventeenth position on the grid after failing to advance beyond Q1. The last five positions on the grid were filled by Williams and Sauber drivers. Alex Albon managed to secure sixteenth place, while Logan Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu will start from the back row.
The final positions on the grid are as follows:
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. George Russell (Mercedes)
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
8. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
10. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
11. Daniel Ricciardo (RB)
12. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
13. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
14. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
15. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
16. Alex Albon (Williams)
17. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
18. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)
19. Logan Sergeant (Williams)
20. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)
