Formula 1 | Verstappen beats Norris to F1 Sprint pole in Austria

As is the case during every Sprint weekend in F1, Friday afternoon is the scene of the first competitive session. This year, it is the Sprint qualifications, also called Sprint Shootout, which are the scene of the first fight of the weekend, with the objective of establishing the grid for the Sprint.

It was Max Verstappen who set the best time in Free Practice, but on the very short Red Bull Ring, we know that the hierarchy will be tight all weekend. McLaren and Ferrari seemed close, while Mercedes hid its game by not using soft tires at the end of the session, and only running on hard compounds.

This Sprint qualification is also an opportunity for the teams to collect data that will allow them to fine-tune the settings for the qualifying session on Saturday, which will determine the grid for Sunday.

Indeed, the Parc Fermé is lifted between the Sprint and qualifying, and the teams have the right to work on the settings and specifications of the cars. Of course, this work is limited because too drastic changes are often too big a risk before qualifying and the race.

Red Bull has revealed that an oil level sensor caused Verstappen’s engine problem in testing this morning, and that it has been fixed. The team is not worried that the issue will recur.

SQ1 – 12 minutes – Pneus mediums

The drivers exited after three minutes of this session, some of them planning to do two fast laps without re-entering. As is often the case, and especially on such a short track, the 12-minute qualifying session will be very intense on the track.

Lewis Hamilton set a first time of 1:06.416, with Valtteri Bottas second. Hamilton’s time was cancelled and George Russell set a time of 1:05.764. Oscar Piastri was second, with Yuki Tsunoda slotting in ahead of Bottas.

Carlos Sainz set the second fastest time and Kevin Magnussen the fourth. Lando Norris placed third with the best absolute third sector. Charles Leclerc took fourth position, and Pierre Gasly positioned himself ninth, while Esteban Ocon climbed to sixth place.

Max Verstappen beat Russell in 1’05″690, and Sergio Perez set the sixth fastest time, half a second behind his team-mate. Fernando Alonso only set the 14th fastest time, and Lance Stroll the fifth fastest time, well ahead of his team-mate. Logan Sargeant was 12th, and Guanyu Zhou’s time was also cancelled.

Piastri improved and moved up to sixth, while Hamilton restarted in a second timed lap. The Briton set the 11th fastest time, and Zhou did no better than 20th fastest. Perez moved up to eighth and Alex Albon took 15th. Nico Hulkenberg set the 13th fastest time and Alonso 11th.

Daniel Ricciardo moved up to 14th, and Sargeant set the 13th time, while Tsunoda made a mistake on his last lap. Gasly and Ocon were not hampered and ranked 11th and ninth in this SQ1.

The eliminated were Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Albon and Zhou.

SQ2 – 10 minutes – Pneus mediums

The second part of these Sprint qualifiers will again be held on medium tires, while the SQ3 will be contested on soft tires. The slow motion of Tsunoda’s exit in SQ1 shows that the Japanese came close to being punished, in particular by passing near the pit entrance wall.

Verstappen completed a hard-charging lap in 1:05.186, while Perez clocked a 1:05.612, still almost half a second behind. Norris was second just ahead of Perez, and Sainz was second, two and a half tenths behind Verstappen.

Leclerc set the third time, and Piastri placed second. Hamilton set the fifth fastest time and Russell the second, 0.139 behind Verstappen. The top eight are within 0.426 and the four leading teams are once again very close to each other. The other drivers competing in this SQ2 did not do a first timed lap.

Stroll was ninth, with Ocon ahead. Tsunoda was 11th, with Gasly just behind Ocon. Alonso was no better than 12th, behind Stroll. Sargeant was 14th, and Magnussen had the best first sector, finishing 11th! Perez didn’t improve but stayed eighth and qualified for SQ3.

The eliminated were Magnussen, Stroll, Alonso, Tsunoda and Sargeant.

SQ3 – 8 minutes – Soft tires

No drivers came out on track when the light turned green, with the drivers clearly preparing for a single fast lap. The first drivers came out when the clock was less than 3 minutes, and it was the Mercedes drivers who took to the track first.

The Alpine riders went out last, knowing that they had no chance of beating the first eight riders in a fair manner. There was just over 2 minutes left on the clock when the first riders left the pits.

Leclerc pulled to the side and let the Alpines pass, because his anti-stall system caused the engine to stop. And by the time he came out of the pits, Hamilton was already launching his fast lap. And Leclerc didn’t manage to cross the line early enough to set a time!

Hamilton set a 1’05″270, beaten by Russell in 1’05″054! Piastri set the best time but Norris did better in 1’04″799, and Sainz placed fourth. Verstappen did better in 1’04″686, taking pole position for the Sprint. Pérez qualified seventh, ahead of Ocon and Gasly.

Verstappen will therefore be in front of Norris again, while Piastri and Russell will be on the second row. Sainz and Hamilton will be on the third row in front of Pérez and Ocon then Gasly and Leclerc.