As it stands, George Russell will start of pole ahead of both Ferraris as Max Verstappen crashes on his final lap.
Q1: Trouble for Russell
Antonelli, championship leader, set the initial pace with a 1:07.083, just 0.176 faster than Norris in P2 and two tenths ahead of Barcelona GP winner, Hamilton.
Further down, his team mate suffered similar struggles as he did in FP3 reporting a lack of grip. After the first runs, he only managed P8, 0.5 seconds slower than Antonelli.
Oscar Piastri had to abort his final lap after two yellow sectors. He got through to Q2, finishing the session in P8, he was the only driver in the top 7 who decided to go out in the closing stages, the rest choosing to preserve their tyres for later.
Russell was the highest placing driver after Piastri to go for the second run. He made a big improvement this time, getting 3 tenths closer to his team mate’s fastest time.
McLaren reported damage to the rear Norris’ car, seemingly as a result of taking too much kerb. The mechanics looked to be working swiftly to fix the issue.
Carlos Sainz got a serving of oversteer through Turn 10, costing him a place in Q2.
Joining Sainz in the elimination zone were his team mate Alex Albon, Sergio Pérez, Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll.
Q2: Antonelli’s Dominance Continues
After setting an impressive time in the first session, Norris was the first driver out on track, his McLaren looking well and their previous issues not causing him too much bother.
Antonelli became the benchmark once more, this time ahead of the other McLaren of Piastri.
Russell’s difficult session continued. His lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits, putting him under pressure to deliver a lap on his next effort.
Red Bull took a huge gamble with Verstappen, choosing to keep him in the garage instead of going out on track for one more lap. This left him massively at risk to Gasly who was setting a string of personal bests, but the Alpine driver missed out by just 0.04 seconds to the 4 time world champion.
Also eliminated were Gabriel Bortoleto, Ollie Bearman, Nico Hulkenburg, Esteban Ocon and Franco Colapinto.
Q3: Verstappen’s Session Unravels
Provisional pole position for Verstappen sent a roar through the grandstands in Spielberg until dominant Antonelli continued his form, going 0.06 seconds faster than the Red Bull.
Russell looked to have got his groove back after a confidence boost from Team Principal, Toto Wolff. He got the closest he’s been so far to Antonelli, just 4 hundredths separating the Silver Arrows.
The Ferraris aimed to spoil Mercedes’ fun, paining the timing sheets purple and Leclerc took provisional pole ahead of his team mate, Hamilton in P2.
Chaos exploded across the circuit as nominated home hero Verstappen lost the rear of the car at Turn 9 and found the barriers, bringing his session to a dramatic end.
Controversially, Russell went 0.2 seconds faster than the Scuderia. In the post Qualifying interviews, Russell claimed his delta was showing +0.5 seconds to Leclerc, meaning he lifted through Turn 9 and still went fastest.
The marshal posts signalled a single waved yellow at the time, rather than a double waved yellow, which would mean he would be forced to abort the lap, like Antonelli did.
The stewards have agreed with Russell’s claims and what the data on the track showed and decided there would be no further investigation for a yellow flag infringement.
Keep an eye on EverythingTrackside’s socials, but for now, Russell is on pole in Austria!
Feature Image: Formula 1 via X