Lando Norris significantly boosted his championship hopes with a commanding performance in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. He secured pole position, outpacing Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by an impressive 0.521 seconds.
Norris`s McLaren teammate and title rival, Oscar Piastri, will start third on the grid. His final Q3 lap was compromised right at the start when Pierre Gasly spun out of the final corner, triggering yellow flags and forcing Piastri to slow down.
This result comes after a collision between the two McLaren drivers at the previous event in Canada, which led to Norris retiring and falling 22 points behind Piastri in the championship standings.
Speaking on team radio, Norris commented, “Nice to see the old me back every now and then.” He elaborated in parc ferme: “It was a good lap, that`s for sure. I guess it was little bit, by little bit. My Q1 was good but I knew there was a few places where I could get a bit more time, and I did exactly that. I did what I planned to do, so very happy.”
He added, “It`s a long season. I still savour this moment, particularly because some of my tougher moments this year have been in quali, but I`m excited. I`m happy with today but I want to prove it to myself over and over again, and hopefully this is just the beginning of it.”
Sunday`s Austrian Grand Prix presents Norris with an opportunity to reduce the points deficit before the season reaches its midpoint at Silverstone next weekend. With McLaren appearing to be the strongest team at the Red Bull Ring this weekend, he may still need to fend off a challenge from his teammate during the 71-lap race.
Piastri`s initial attempt in Q3 put him just 0.062 seconds behind Leclerc, who secured Ferrari`s best qualifying result since the Monaco Grand Prix by taking second place.
Reflecting on his compromised lap, Piastri stated: “It was the fact I didn`t get to start it, that was the problem.” He conceded Norris`s speed but believed he had the car capability for the front row, expressing disappointment at the missed opportunity: “Always a shame when you don`t get the chance… Sometimes, just not your day.” He added determinedly, “I`m not planning on finishing third, that`s for sure.”
Charles Leclerc`s Ferrari teammate, Lewis Hamilton, secured his best qualifying result of the season in fourth place. This performance underscores the potential step up in performance Ferrari has achieved this weekend with an upgraded floor.
Max Verstappen had to abandon his final Q3 attempt due to the yellow flags caused by Gasly`s spin in the final sector and will start seventh on the grid. This places him behind Racing Bull`s Liam Lawson in sixth and Canada race winner George Russell, who qualified fifth for Mercedes.
Gabriel Bortoleto made his first appearance in Q3, qualifying eighth for Sauber. He finished ahead of Mercedes` Kimi Antonelli and Pierre Gasly in the final part of the session.
Fernando Alonso missed out on the top ten by a narrow margin of 0.086 seconds and will start 11th for Aston Martin. Alex Albon will line up 12th, marking only the second time this year a Williams driver has not reached Q3. Isack Hadjar qualified 13th for Racing Bulls, followed by Franco Colapinto of Alpine in 14th, and Haas driver Oliver Bearman in 15th.
Lance Stroll starts 16th for Aston Martin after missing a spot in Q2 by just 0.051 seconds. Esteban Ocon qualified 17th for Alpine, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in 18th. Tsunoda reported a lack of front grip in his Racing Bull and this marks his third Q1 exit this season, although he was only 0.263 seconds off his teammate Lawson`s pace in the same session.
Carlos Sainz qualified 19th after his Williams car sustained damage during the session; he starts ahead of Sauber`s Nico Hülkenberg.
Dominic Ashworth