Max Verstappen narrowly beats Charles Leclerc to pole at the Red Bull Ring; Carlos Sainz third as Sergio Perez and George Russell make surprise Q2 exits; watch Austrian GP Sprint qualifying live on Sky Sports F1 at 11am on Saturday, followed by the Sprint at 3:30pm
Last Updated: 30/06/23 5:32pm
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Max Verstappen got his fourth successive pole position around Red Bull Ring, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz qualifying second and third respectively
Max Verstappen got his fourth successive pole position around Red Bull Ring, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz qualifying second and third respectively
Max Verstappen beat Charles Leclerc to pole position for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix after a chaotic qualifying dominated by drivers’ struggles to stay within track limits.
The Dutchman, who leads the world championship by 69 points as he seeks a third successive drivers’ title, delivered a 1:04.391 to hold provisional pole going into the final seconds of the session.
However, a fourth successive pole for the Red Bull driver suddenly seemed in doubt as Leclerc stormed around the Spielberg circuit behind him, before ultimately coming up just 0.048s short.
In a much improved display from Ferrari, Carlos Sainz finished third behind team-mate Leclerc, with the Italian squad showing signs of overcoming their early-season struggles.
With Sprint qualifying and a shortened race to follow on Saturday as the Red Bull Ring hosts the second Sprint weekend of the season, Verstappen’s hopes of extending his world championship lead were boosted by his nearest challenger – and team-mate – Sergio Perez making a shock Q2 exit.
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George Russell and Sergio Perez are out at qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix
Perez was the highest profile victim as drivers struggled to remain within the confines of the circuit at the final two corners, with the Mexican having three lap times deleted in Q2 despite appearing to have the pace to compete for a place on the front row.
Lando Norris produced a brilliant display to take fourth in his upgraded McLaren, finishing a place ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who appeared to maximise his Mercedes’ performance as team-mate George Russell also made a surprise Q2 exit.
Lance Stroll out-qualified team-mate Fernando Alonso for just the second time this season as the Aston Martin duo finished sixth and seventh respectively.
Nico Hulkenberg made it through to Q3 for a third successive race as he took eighth for Haas, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Williams’ Alex Albon rounded out the top 10.
Austrian GP Qualifying result
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
4) Lando Norris, McLaren
5) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
6) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
7) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
8) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
9) Pierre Gasly, Alpine
10) Alex Albon, Williams
More to follow…
