Mercedes driver tops Leclerc and Hamilton on the final attempt; Bortoleto is eliminated in Q2 and will start 12th
George Russell claimed provisional pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on Saturday (27), with the Mercedes driver posting a 1:06.113 at the end of Q3, beating Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, but the lap was subject to review by race control due to a possible yellow-flag infringement after Max Verstappen’s crash.
Leclerc finished second with Ferrari, followed by Hamilton. Kimi Antonelli ended fourth for Mercedes, while Verstappen finished fifth after losing the car at Turn 9 and hitting the tire barrier. Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.
The qualifying session began with Mercedes as the favorite after dominating the free practice sessions. Antonelli had led both Friday’s sessions, while Russell topped FP3. Still, the small gap among the leaders in practice suggested an open battle for pole in Spielberg.
In Q1, the first cars on track were Cadillac, Williams, Aston Martin, as well as Esteban Ocon and Nico Hülkenberg. Russell took the lead with 1:07.811, but Verstappen quickly responded with 1:07.407. Shortly after, Norris dropped to 1:07.259, Hamilton jumped to second, 31 thousandths behind the McLaren driver, and Antonelli again looked strong by posting 1:07.083.
Bortoleto took a while to leave the pits and his first attempt was not good. The Brazilian made a mistake early in the lap and sat in 14th place. In the final run of Q1, he improved to 1:08.035 and rose to 12th, securing a spot in Q2 and staying 31 thousandths ahead of Hülkenberg.
The Q1 session ended with Antonelli at the front, followed by Norris and Hamilton. The eliminated were Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Sergio Pérez, Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. Bortoleto advanced, but still needed to improve to try to reach Q3.
In Q2, Norris was the first to go out and set a 1:07.321. Leclerc responded with a solid lap of 1:07.030, just nine thousandths ahead of Hamilton at that moment. Antonelli again appeared strong shortly after, trading lap times against Ferrari and taking the lead with 1:06.763.
On final Q2 runs, Norris improved to 1:06.897 and moved to third, while Russell recovered to fourth with 1:06.979. Hamilton also improved and took fifth. Verstappen, meanwhile, found himself on the edge after Red Bull decided not to send him back out.
Bortoleto improved to 1:07.293 and rose to 11th, just a tenth shy of taking Verstappen out of Q3. Shortly after, Pierre Gasly also improved and pushed the Brazilian to 12th. The Audi driver was eliminated, but finished more than three tenths ahead of Hülkenberg and also ahead of Oliver Bearman.
Eliminated in Q2 were Gasly, Bortoleto, Bearman, Hülkenberg, Ocon and Franco Colapinto. Consequently, Bortoleto would start 12th at the Austrian GP, a positive result within Audi’s internal battle, though still short of a top-10.
The Q3 started with no cars on track for a moment, but soon everyone headed out for their first runs. Norris led with 1:06.900, Verstappen dropped to 1:06.475 and Antonelli took the lead with 1:06.414. Russell stayed second, just 43 thousandths behind his teammate, while Verstappen fell to third, 61 thousandths off the pace.
Hamilton made a mistake in Turn 3 on his first attempt and returned to the pits. In the final run, however, the Briton started strong and took the lead with 1:06.408. Shortly after, Leclerc responded with 1:06.349 and looked set to secure Ferrari a front-row lockout.
The verdict changed in the closing seconds. Verstappen lost the car at Turn 9, slid through the gravel and struck the tyre barriers, triggering a yellow flag. Even with the incident, Russell improved to 1:06.113 and took provisional pole.
Race control noted the incident involving Russell for a possible yellow-flag infringement. Therefore, although the Briton led the chart, the official pole confirmation depends on the stewards’ decision. If the lap is deleted, Leclerc and Hamilton will make up the front row of the race.
Russell will start from pole, followed by Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli, Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Hadjar, Lawson and Lindblad. The classification ended amid uncertainty, with Mercedes celebrating Russell’s lap, Ferrari frustrated for losing pole in the final moments and Red Bull watching Verstappen end the session against the wall.
The start of the Austrian Grand Prix takes place this Sunday (28) at 10:00, Brasilia time. Follow LIVE in REAL TIME on RallyBuzz.
Check out the starting grid for the Austrian GP:
1) George Russell (Mercedes) 1’06.113
2) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1’06.349
3) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 1’06.408
4) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 1’06.414
5) Max Verstappen (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford) 1’06.475
6) Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes) 1’06.502
7) Oscar Piastri (McLaren/Mercedes) 1’06.511
8) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford) 1’06.632
9) Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford) 1’06.955
10) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford) 1’07.007
11) Pierre Gasly (Alpine/Mercedes) 1’07.223
12) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) 1’07.293
13) Oliver Bearman (Haas/Ferrari) 1’07.523
14) Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) 1’07.611
15) Esteban Ocon (Haas/Ferrari) 1’07.817
16) Franco Colapinto (Alpine/Mercedes) 1’08.171
17) Carlos Sainz (Williams/Mercedes) 1’08.252
18) Alexander Albon (Williams/Mercedes) 1’08.509
19) Sergio Pérez (Cadillac/Ferrari) 1’08.945
20) Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac/Ferrari) 1’09.030
21) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin/Honda) 1’09.942
22) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Honda) 1’10.363
