The next stop on the Formula 1 schedule takes the grid to the Styrian Alps, and the Red Bull Ring.
And it is set to be a rather hot qualifying hour this weekend.
With Europe in the throes of a historic heat wave, the F1 grid is set to take on the speedy Red Bull Ring, during qualifying for this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. Could this weekend see a bounce-back from Mercedes? Drivers’ Championship leader Kimi Antonelli led the way in both FP1 and FP2 on Friday, ahead of teammate George Russell during the first hour of practice and in front of the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris during the second.
But will that pace translate to pole position today?
Of course, you can never count out Max Verstappen at the Red Bull Ring, and a resurgent Lewis Hamilton is certainly on the hunt as well.
We’ll be tracking the qualifying hour live, so follow along with us! And join the conversation over on The Feed:
Austrian Grand Prix Open Thread
Gonna be a hot one at Red Bull Ring.
Kimi was fastest in FP1 and FP2. Will that carry over to Saturday?
Also it must be summer because we’ve got “Max is leaving Red Bull” rumors coming from Austria. I’m not buying them, at least not yet.
Austrian GP provisional qualifying results
Here is the provisional starting grid, which will be filled in throughout the qualifying session.
Row |
Position |
Driver |
Team |
Position |
Driver |
Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Row 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| Row 3 | 5 | 6 | ||||
| Row 4 | 7 | 8 | ||||
| Row 5 | 9 | 10 | ||||
| Row 6 | 11 | 12 | ||||
| Row 7 | 13 | 14 | ||||
| Row 8 | 15 | 16 | ||||
| Row 9 | 17 | 18 | ||||
| Row 10 | 19 | 20 | ||||
| Row 11 | 21 | 22 |
Austrian Grand Prix qualifying
Follow along as the qualifying hour unfolds. All updates are in Eastern time.
10:14: Just under four minutes left, and the entire field is on pit lane, prepping for the final push laps in Q1.
10:11: We’ve got times in from everyone. Sainz, Perez, Bottas, Ocon, Alonso, and Stroll are the six drivers in the drop zone with seven minutes left in Q1.
10:09: Antonelli gets to the top of the pile with a 1:07.083
10:06: Norris jumps to the top with a 1:07.259. Hamilton slides into second with a 1:07.290, just 0.031 seconds behind the McLaren driver.
10:05: Russell posts a solid lap of 1:07.811 to lead the way for the moment, but Verstappen and Hadjar climb above him, with Verstappen pumping in a 1:07.407 and Hadjar a 1:07.408.
10:00: Quali underway. Ocon leads them out, with the Cadillac pair of Pérez and Bottas next. The Cadillac pair struggled to get out with a tight turn out of their respective stalls
9:58: Softest tires in the range this week from Pirelli, the C5, C4, and C3.
9:55: Am I growing weary of the Dua Lipa Nespresso commercials? Yes, yes I am. Why do you ask?
FP3 ended the same way the first two hours of practice ended, with a Mercedes atop the timing sheets.
But the name was different.
George Russell finished the final hour of practice at the top of the board, followed by Antonelli and Hamilton. The McLaren duo of Piastri and Norris rounded out the top five.
Russell edged ahead of Antonelli by just 0.038 seconds, with Hamilton 0.115 seconds off the pace. Piastri and Noris were further back, with the Australian driver 0.248 seconds behind Russell, and Norris 0.264 seconds behind the Mercedes driver.
