Verstappen Secures Pole Position at Red Bull Ring despite Leclerc Herorics

Max Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive pole position with an incredible performance at the Red Bull Ring to edge out Charles Leclerc, who put everything on the line in his final lap in Q3.

Lando Norris was one of the best performers alongside Alex Albon, while a track limit violation for Sergio Pérez saw him out of qualifying in Q2 once again as the pressure mounts on the Mexican.

Q1: AlphaTauri Duo Out, Disappointment for Magnussen

Q1 saw constant running and excitement around the Red Bull Ring, with twenty drivers looking to find the optimum lap time and track position on one of the shortest tracks on the Formula 1 calendar.

The first action of the session saw Valtteri Bottas bring out the red flag after he spun on the exit of turn one causing his car to be facing the wrong way. The red flag added extra pressure with just over ten minutes to go with a number of drivers already losing lap times due to track limit violations, including Verstappen. As is expected with the Dutchman though, it didn’t take long for him to put in another laptime and get himself back to the top of the timesheets.

Pérez put in a late lap to lift himself away from the danger into second place, while George Russell also left it late to secure a place in Q2.

Nyck de Vries comes into the weekend under a lot of pressure following comments from Helmut Marko, and the Dutchman needed a good qualifying to get himself back on track and attempt to score his first points of the season. Unfortunately for the former Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team reserve driver, he got the opposite and will start last on the grid for the race on Sunday. De Vries’ teammate, Yuki Tsunoda also suffered a Q1 exit, meaning he will start sixteenth on the grid on Sunday.

Despite his teammate putting in a storming lap, Logan Sargeant was unable to make it out of Q1 and will start in eighteenth for the race on Sunday, making points a tough ask for the American. Kevin Magnussen and Guanyu Zhou were also knocked out and they will start nineteenth and seventeenth respectively in Sunday’s race.

Q2: Ocon and Pérez Suffer Exits Due to Track Limits, Russell Out

Q2 saw another action-packed qualifying session as all the drivers went to the limits to try and secure a place in the top ten shootout in Austria. The strict track limits returned in this session, putting drivers under extreme pressure to keep themselves within the white lines.

Verstappen was once again struggling early on to keep his car on track, with his early lap being deleted for track limits but once again the Dutchman managed to secure the quickest time in the session. After doing well in the first session, Norris continued his outstanding form, finishing in third just under a tenth behind Verstappen and just a few thousandths behind Carlos Sainz Jr.

Pérez found himself under pressure after he had a lap time deleted for going off at the exit of turn ten, his final lap saw him move up into the top ten, but despite a great lap, he once again found himself not complying with track limits and with no time for another lap, the Mexican found himself all the way down in fifteenth and suffering a fourth Q2 exit in a row.

Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool

After just getting through to Q2 ahead of his teammate, Bottas was unable to extract any more pace for Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake, meaning he will start fourteenth on the grid for Sunday’s race, just behind Oscar Piastri.

Esteban Ocon was set for a place in Q3, but similarly to Pérez, he found himself knocked out with his laptime being deleted due to track limits, with his previous lap only being good enough for twelfth.

Russell didn’t have enough pace to get out of Q2, despite lots of hope for Mercedes in the build-up to the race. The Briton had already completed four laps on his soft compound tyres, and a lack of pace on his lap will see him start eleventh on the grid for Sunday’s race.

Alex Albon once again impressed for Williams Racing and managed to get himself into Q3 for a second consecutive race.

Q3: Verstappen Secures Fourth Consecutive Pole Position

Verstappen managed to secure a fourth consecutive pole position in Q3, with an exceptional lap towards the end of the session, just ahead of Leclerc, who was driving his Ferrari to the limits.

The expectations on Albon weren’t high after he managed to get his Williams into Q3, a solid lap from the former Red Bull driver was deleted due to a track limits violation, but it wouldn’t have mattered with the lap time only being good enough for tenth, which is where he’ll start the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Nico Hülkenberg once again showed good form in qualifying and managed to get himself behind the top four teams’ drivers in seventh with an impressive lap, just ahead of Pierre Gasly in ninth.

Fernando Alonso was out-qualified by his teammate Lance Stroll, with the Aston Martin Armaco Cognizant F1 Team duo finishing seventh and sixth respectively. Lewis Hamilton left it late to jump the Aston Martin’s and he’ll line up fifth on the grid for Sunday’s race.

Norris’ upgraded McLaren was clearly working and the Briton was certainly enjoying himself around the Red Bull Ring and managed to put in a time good enough to start fourth on Sunday, which is more than McLaren would have dreamed of prior to the race weekend.

Ferrari were the closest challengers to Verstappen throughout qualifying and that trend continued in Q3. Leclerc really pushed the limits on his final lap as he looked to take pole position but it just wasn’t enough to beat the dominant Verstappen, with the Dutchman’s final lap being under half a tenth quicker than the Ferrari man, who will line up second on the grid ahead of Sainz.

POS	DRIVER	CAR	Q1	Q2	Q3	LAPS
1	Max Verstappen	RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT				24
2	Charles Leclerc	FERRARI				26
3	Carlos Sainz	FERRARI				25
4	Lando Norris	MCLAREN MERCEDES				23
5	Lewis Hamilton	MERCEDES				25
6	Lance Stroll	ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES				25
7	Fernando Alonso	ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES				27
8	Nico Hulkenberg	HAAS FERRARI				24
9	Pierre Gasly	ALPINE RENAULT				21
10	Alexander Albon	WILLIAMS MERCEDES				21
11	George Russell	MERCEDES				21
12	Esteban Ocon	ALPINE RENAULT				15
13	Oscar Piastri	MCLAREN MERCEDES				19
14	Valtteri Bottas	ALFA ROMEO FERRARI				14
15	Sergio Perez	RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT				19
16	Yuki Tsunoda	ALPHATAURI HONDA RBPT				10
17	Zhou Guanyu	ALFA ROMEO FERRARI				9
18	Logan Sargeant	WILLIAMS MERCEDES				9
19	Kevin Magnussen	HAAS FERRARI				10
20	Nyck De Vries	ALPHATAURI HONDA RBPT				10