Mercedes seemed to have the Austrian Grand Prix pole all but assured midway through the final runs on Saturday (June 27), as George Russell went purple in the first sector.
But then, well, a bit of a disaster happened in Formula 1 qualifying.
Max Verstappen spun out entering turn 9 with a head of steam as time expired. This wreck and the yellow section at the end of the lap seemed to conclude the session, giving Charles Leclerc the pole and placing Lewis Hamilton second.
Russell then completed his lap anyway and ended up with the pole following an investigation by the stewards.
“It was an amazing lap,” Russell said. “I saw the yellow. I had a big lift into the corner. I was five-tenths up. Out of it, I was two-and-a-half-tenths up. It was a single yellow as well and not a double.”
Russell’s pole is the 11th of his career and fourth of the season in just eight races. The Brit was also able to put both Ferrari drivers between himself and Kimi Antonelli in fourth.
Other than the Verstappen incident, there were no issues in qualifying.
Q3
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Leader |
| 1. | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:06:113m |
| 2. | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.236s |
| 3. | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.295s |
| 4. | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.301s |
| 5. | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Red Bull Ford | +0.362s |
| 6. | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | +0.389s |
| 7. | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | +0.398s |
| 8. | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull Racing Red Bull Ford | +0.519s |
| 9. | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls Red Bull Ford | +0.842s |
| 10. | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls Red Bull Ford | +0.894s |
Q2
Verstappen was able to just hang onto 10th in this round in spite of not making a second fast lap. Even with his Q3 incident, this decision will save the Red Bull driver an extra set of soft tires for Sunday’s race (June 28) that nobody else in the top 16 has.
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 11. | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Mercedes | +0.040s |
| 12. | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | +0.110s |
| 13. | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | +0.340s |
| 14. | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | +0.428s |
| 15. | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas Ferrari | +0.634s |
| 16. | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine Mercedes | +0.988s |
Q1
Just to gauge the current gap between Aston Martin and the leaders: Fernando Alonso’s fastest qualifying lap this session was almost three seconds off from the top time in the round.
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 17. | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Atlassian Williams Mercedes | +0.021s |
| 18. | 23 | Alexander Albon | Atlassian Williams Mercedes | +0.278s |
| 19. | 11 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac Ferrari | +0.714s |
| 20. | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac Ferrari | +0.799s |
| 21. | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Honda | +1.711s |
| 22. | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Honda | +2.132s |
With qualifying complete, the hills of Spielberg are officially alive with the sound of F1. Lights go out for the Austrian Grand Prix at 9 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 28. Free coverage this week will be provided by Apple TV; an Apple account is the only requirement for access.
Michael has watched NASCAR for over 25 years and has covered it on-and-off for 14.
In addition to Frontstretch he also writes sporadically for his own websites GrandPrixFocus.com and StockCarFocus.com.