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Norris back in form in Qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix
Formula one has arrived at the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix! Qualifying was full of action on Red Bull’s home track, where Max Verstappen has had an impressive five poles across his career. But today another driver stood out, as Lando Norris took over the entire session and secured the starting spot on the grid, with Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri rounding out the top three.
Here is your rundown of everything that happened on Saturday’s Qualifying session for the Austrian Grand Prix.
Q1
The start of the Qualifying was delayed after an intense crash in the F2 sprint left Trident’s Sami Meguetounif upside-down on track. The Frenchman was thankfully okay, owing to the halo of his car.
Once the session kicked off, the competition was on. Halfway through the session Verstappen set the top time, but only seconds later Norris crushed that result, coming almost half a second ahead of the Dutchman. in a preview of things to come.
As things went on, Williams found themselves struggling. Carlos Sainz dipped into the gravel trap and later mentioned that the car might have damage. His teammate Alex Albon also ran into some trouble going over a curb and potentially affecting the floor of his car.
George Russell found himself on a pressure lap in the last minutes of Q1, eventually finding the time he needed, but not matching what we have seen from him during Free Practice sessions.
After 18 minutes, the McLarens of Norris and Piastri topped the timesheet, and both VCARBs of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson were in the top five.
Nico Hulkenberg, Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll were eliminated.
Q2
The session was red flagged with 5:42 remaining, as the grass on the side of the track at Turn 10 caught fire, reminiscent of the issues we saw during the Japanese Grand Prix earlier this year.
Once Q2 started back up, Gabriel Bortoleto put down an electric statement of a lap, to finish fifth overall in the round. This will be the first Q3 appearance of his F1 career.
Both Mercedes found themselves in trouble but were once again able to squeak by, with Kimi Antonelli just getting into the top 10 at the end of the 15 minutes.
The two McLarens continued their domination for the rest of the round. An impeding incident involving Norris and Leclerc was noted by the stewards but was quickly ruled as no further action.
Oliver Bearman, Franco Colapinto, Hadjar, Albon, and Fernando Alonso did not advance into Q3.
Q3
The final portion of Qualifying saw Norris and Piastri fighting for the top spot in an intense few laps, however both Ferraris of Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton showed themselves to be a worthy opponent.
Verstappen, on the other hand, looked to be struggling in the first half of the final round. He was more than half of a second behind Norris’s leading lap time at a track that both drivers are known to excel on.
Russell was noted for an unsafe release after entering the fast lane in the pit while several cars were oncoming.
The session was yellow flagged with 20 seconds left when Pierre Gasly went off track, pirouetting through gravel in the last corner. This forced Verstappen to back off of his final hot lap attempt, ultimately finishing P7.
Just ahead of him on the grid is Lawson, in P6, his best result yet.
Sauber also had an exciting finish to the session, as Bortoleto unqualified fellow rookie Antonelli.
Norris could not be beat, but Ferrari’s upgrade seems to be doing them some good, as Leclerc was able to split the two McLarens to start in P2 tomorrow. Piastri will line up directly behind his teammate, in P3, after also being unable to complete a second hot lap due to the yellow flag.
Austrian Grand Prix Qualifying Results
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