F1 Austrian GP live: Race start time and qualifying results with Lando Norris starting on pole position
Follow live F1 updates from the Red Bull Ring as Norris takes pole by half-a-second to Charles Leclerc
A dominant Lando Norris delivered the perfect response to his Montreal horror show by securing an emphatic pole position for Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.
Norris' F1 world championship bid was dealt a major setback a fortnight ago when he ran into the back of his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.
But the British driver has been in excellent form at the Red Bull Ring, topping all of the practice sessions he has competed in, before landing the 12th pole of his career.
Norris' margin over second-placed Charles Leclerc was a huge 0.521 seconds - the biggest of the year so far at the shortest track on the calendar. Piastri qualified in third, with Lewis Hamilton in fourth and Max Verstappen down in seventh.
Follow live updates of the Austrian Grand Prix with The Independent
Lewis Hamilton on Ferrari upgrades:
"A huge amount of work went on to bring the floor but as you can see, it's not necessarily changed our competitiveness.," said Hamilton.
"The car actually doesn't feel bad, it's just we're a huge chunk off pace-wise. We need to look into that."
“We won't be at the front."
Lando Norris on backlash from Oscar Piastri crash: ‘Not the most joyful conversations’
Addressing the post-Montreal summit in Spielberg, the British driver said: “Of course, they were not the most joyful conversations, but they were conversations that clearly needed to be had because it is not about just me, but it is about how we perform as a team, too, and we all know what the number one rule (not crashing into a team-mate) was, and continues to be.
“So, there were very constructive things that were said, in an unfortunate way but in a good way, too, because many things have come out stronger which you might not have expected.”
Verstappen teams up with different race engineer in Austria
This weekend, Simon Rennie will take over Lambiase’s duties and act as Verstappen’s race engineer, meaning he will also be heard over the team radio.
Lambiase misses this weekend due to personal reasons.
Toto Wolff on a potential Russell-Verstappen line-up
“I can imagine every lineup,” he said.
“I had Rosberg and Hamilton fighting for a World Championship, so everything else afterwards is easy.
“There are pros and cons of having two drivers fighting each other hard and we’ve seen examples where that functions and other examples where it didn’t.”
Irish teen Alex Dunne after finishing P4 in FP1 for McLaren yesterday:
"I want to say a massive thank you, you made a little boy's dream come true. This is definitely the best day of my life," Dunne said over the radio as he made his way back to the garage at the end of the session.
"Thank you everyone for letting me do this and thanks to Lando as well for trusting me with his car. It means a lot."
F1 constructor standings after 10 races:
1. McLaren - 374 points
2. Mercedes - 199 points
2. Ferrari - 183 points
4. Red Bull - 162 points
5. Williams - 55 points
6. Haas - 28 points
7. Racing Bulls - 28 points
8. Aston Martin - 22 points
9. Sauber - 20 points
10. Alpine - 11 points
Lewis Hamilton reacts to ‘significant’ social media abuse F1 drivers face
“The times have changed,” Hamilton, who co-produced the new F1 Movie, said. “I would say the racing space has probably got a lot busier with the fame of the sport, so it’s probably more intense.
“The media is more reactive, maybe. You’ve got social media presence and online abuse that we didn’t have when I got into the sport.
“It’s been pretty amazing to see how mature the young drivers that have come in – young men that have come in – have adapted and how they’ve carried that weight, because it’s no easy situation to be thrown into.”
Austrian GP preview: George Russell and Max Verstappen F1 swap would be unthinkable – but Mercedes man deserves clarity
As the Formula One enterprise returns to real racing this weekend in Austria – away from the sprinkle and stardust of movie premieres in New York and London – one of the season’s standout drivers so far is in an unusual predicament. A scenario, you might say, worthy of a drama. No doubt Box to Box, the producers of Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive, are rubbing their hands together.
George Russell, at this present stage, can do little more. The 27-year-old, in his fourth season at Mercedes and first without Lewis Hamilton by his side, has taken to the role of “team leader” with poise and serenity. As the Brit acknowledged to The Independent last month, he’s been “getting better and better”.
Full piece below:
Russell and Verstappen swap would be unthinkable – but Mercedes man deserves clarity
Driver standings heading into this weekend:
1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 198 points
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 155 points
4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 136 points
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 104 points
7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 63 points
8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 42 points
9. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 22 points
10. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 21 points
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) - 20 points
12. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 14 points
13. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 13 points
14. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 11 points
15. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 10 points
16. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 8 points
17. Ollie Bearman (Haas) – 6 points
19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) – 0 points
20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0 points
21. Jack Doohan (Alpine) – 0 points
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments