P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Lando Norris took Austrian Grand Prix pole by a ludicrous margin as Charles Leclerc denied Oscar Piastri a front row start
Lando Norris secured pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix with a commanding lead over his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, who was edged out by Charles Leclerc for second place.
Despite some disruptions in the final Q3 runs due to yellow flags, Norris’s impressive half-second advantage was not solely due to that, showcasing his dominance on the track.
Piastri had to abort his final lap due to the yellow flags, allowing Leclerc to slip ahead, while Max Verstappen faced setbacks and qualified seventh, nearly a second behind the leader.
In a surprise twist, Liam Lawson outshone Verstappen as the top Red Bull driver, qualifying sixth for Racing Bulls.
Lewis Hamilton followed suit, securing fourth place in the second Ferrari, ahead of George Russell, who won the Canadian Grand Prix, as Mercedes struggled in the high temperatures.
Russell and his teammate, Kimi Antonelli, narrowly escaped elimination in Q1 and Q2, eventually qualifying fifth and ninth, respectively.
Gabriel Bortoleto of Sauber impressed with an eighth-place start, while veteran Nico Hulkenberg failed to advance to Q2 after a mistake on his final lap.
Both Carlos Sainz of Williams and Yuki Tsunoda suffered setbacks in Q1, with Sainz citing brake issues and Tsunoda falling short by a small margin compared to Verstappen.
The qualifying session was marred by delays from a Formula 2 crash and a red flag in Q2 due to a grass fire caused by a car going off track, as per the FIA’s assessment.
