It’s the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix, but who would have thought that Red Bull’s Max Verstappen would crash out of qualifying. The race started at 6:30pm today with Mercedes’ George Russell once again taking pole position and joining Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on the front row. The Red Bull Ring has always rewarded bravery. Its short laps, long straights and relentless high-speed corners leave little room for seating. One mistake can cost a driver an entire qualifying session, while a perfect lap can define an entire weekend.After Lewis Hamilton’s thrilling win at Ferrari in Barcelona, ​​Formula 1 comes to Spielberg and the title race is on again. Kimi Antonelli still leads the championship with 41 points, but George Russell is keen to remind everyone that Mercedes has two real title contenders.
Friday training: Antonelli sets the pace first
If Barcelona belongs to George Russell, then Friday in Austria belongs to Kimi Antonelli. The championship leader wasted no time in proving his authority over the weekend, comfortably ahead of his pursuers in the first practice session with Mercedes. George Russell finished two to one for Mercedes, while Oscar Piastri finished third for McLaren.
| Location | driver | team | time/gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | Benz | 1:07.796 |
| 2 | George Russell | Benz | +0.040 seconds |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.117 seconds |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | red bull | +0.281 seconds |
| 5 | lewis hamilton | ferrari | +0.665 seconds |
second practice
Antonelli once again completed the Friday practice double, setting the fastest lap ahead of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Russell slipped to sixth as traffic and set-up changes affected his afternoon performance, but Mercedes are still the team heading into Saturday.McLaren looked increasingly competitive on each lap, while Ferrari’s Hamilton quietly improved throughout the afternoon. Verstappen finished fourth again but continued to struggle with the balance of his Red Bull car.
| Location | driver | team | time/gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | Benz | 1:07.014 |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.237 seconds |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.325 seconds |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | red bull | +0.550 seconds |
| 5 | lewis hamilton | ferrari | +0.597 seconds |
Saturday morning: Russell fights back
Just when it looked like Antonelli would dominate the entire weekend, George Russell responded. The Briton set a superb lap time in the final practice session, finishing first in FP3 just 0.038 seconds ahead of teammate Antonelli. Lewis Hamilton finished in the top three despite struggling with rear-wheel lock, and Mercedes once again confirmed it had the fastest car around Spielberg.Russell admitted the car was still not perfect, complaining about the consistency of the braking throughout the session, but he squeezed every bit of performance out of the W18 when it mattered most. Antonelli kept things light in the battle, ensuring Mercedes entered qualifying with a clear advantage.
| Location | driver | team | time/gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Russell | Benz | 1:07.096 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Benz | +0.038 seconds |
| 3 | lewis hamilton | ferrari | +0.115 seconds |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.248 seconds |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.264 seconds |
Qualifying: Chaos, controversy and Russell’s glorious pole position
The Red Bull Ring may have one of the shortest lap times in Formula 1, but qualifying was anything but smooth sailing. The first and second quarters both brought surprises, and then came the dramatic third quarter.Max Verstappen was set to challenge for pole position, but lost control at Turn 9 and hit the barrier on the final lap. Yellow flags immediately flew on the track, forcing several drivers to react immediately. Russell raised enough of a signal to comply with the single yellow flag as he approached the scene of the accident, then completed a superb lap to secure pole position. The Mercedes driver was briefly investigated after Ferrari questioned whether he respected a yellow flag, but Antonelli and Russell confirmed his lap was legal and pole position remained unchanged. Charles Leclerc took advantage of the Ferrari’s improved pace to take second place. Lewis Hamilton completed an impressive front-row challenge for Ferrari to finish third.Antonelli looked capable of competing for pole all weekend, but he mistakenly believed a double yellow flag had been shown and abandoned his final lap, finishing fourth.Although qualifying ended in the handicap, Verstappen’s previous lap was enough to secure fifth place.
| Location | driver | team | Q3/Q2/Q1 time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Russell | Benz | 1:06.113 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | ferrari | 1:06.349 |
| 3 | lewis hamilton | ferrari | 1:06.408 |
| 4 | Kimi Antonelli | Benz | 1:06.414 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | red bull racing | 1:06.475 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:06.502 |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:06.511 |
| 8 | Isaac Hajar | red bull racing | 1:06.632 |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | bulls | 1:06.955 |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | bulls | 1:07.007 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | alps | 1:07.223 (Q2) |
| 12 | Gabriel Bortoletto | Audi | 1:07.293 (Q2) |
| 13 | Oliver Bellman | Haas F1 Team | 1:07.523 (Q2) |
| 14 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 1:07.611 (Q2) |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | Haas F1 Team | 1:07.817 (Q2) |
| 16 | Franco Colapinto | alps | 1:08.171 (Q2) |
| No. 17 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | williams | 1:08.252 (Q1) |
| 18 | Alex Albon | williams | 1:08.509 (Q1) |
| 19 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | 1:08.945 (Q1) |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 1:09.030 (Q1) |
| twenty one | fernando alonso | Aston Martin | 1:09.942 (Q1) |
| twenty two | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:10.363 (Q1) |
Verstappen’s frustrating afternoon
Austria is Red Bull’s home game, but things quickly turned disappointing on Saturday. After showing encouraging pace in Q3, Verstappen’s late crash ended any hopes of pole position. Although uninjured, the Dutchman will now start fifth on the grid, leaving him with plenty of work to do on Sunday.
The race ahead
Everything points to another exciting Mercedes vs. Ferrari battle.George Russell started from pole position, looking to reduce Antonelli’s lead in the championship. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton achieved Ferrari’s best qualifying results in weeks.Antonelli still has the game rhythm to challenge for victory. Verstappen remains one of the best Formula 1 drivers at the Red Bull Ring despite starting fifth.Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix has overtaking opportunities at Turns 1, 3 and 4, so the excitement of the race is far greater than that of Monaco.
