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F1's shortest track, on Red Bull's home turf, sets up a fascinating weekend.
Patrick Iversen, Alex Davies and more
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That's a wrap on Friday in Austria
Rejoin us tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. ET (11 a.m. BST) for the sprint race, where Max Verstappen will work from pole to fend off the McLaren of Lando Norris.
We'll also have qualifying for the grand prix tomorrow, starting at 10 a.m. (3 p.m. BST).
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A casual reminder that this is Max Verstappen's home turf
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Well, adopted home turf: The three-time world champion may be Dutch, but Red Bull is Austrian, and this track is, after all, the Red Bull Ring.
No wonder the contrast on my monitor looks all out of whack —this place is flooded with orange in honor of the Dutchman.
Mercedes on the march
MAX SLOVENCIK/APA/AFP via Getty Images
"The soft felt really good to be honest, I was pretty surprised at the gap," George Russell says after placing fourth, three-and-a-half tenths of a second behind Max Verstappen in P1. "I probably over-egged it on my out laps," he theorized, costing himself peak grip on the soft tires.
Tomorrow he's got a real chance to fight for a sprint podium, but like most of the grid, he's already thinking ahead to Sunday's grand prix, where more points are handed out. And whatever happens, he's happy to see yet more validation that Mercedes is finally, truly fighting its way back toward the front of the grid.
"I don't know what happened"
That's Charles Leclerc speaking after a disappointing sprint qualifying, when an engine cutoff cost him the chance to put in a proper lap time, leaving him to start the sprint race P10.
"We weren't super strong," he said. "But definitely better than P10."
'Still a lot of things to do.'
"Great to be first here in front of basically my home fans, my home grand prix," Verstappen says after taking pole for the sprint race at the Red Bull Ring. "It's been nice to drive the car," he adds, noting it's been well-balanced and working well.
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The sprint order
Barring any changes, here's how they'll line up for tomorrow's sprint race, which will get going at 6 a.m. ET (11 a.m. BST).
- Max Verstappen
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- George Russell
- Carlos Sainz
- Lewis Hamilton
- Sergio Pérez
- Esteban Ocon
- Pierre Gasly
- Charles Leclerc
- Kevin Magnussen
- Lance Stroll
- Fernando Alonso
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Logan Sargeant
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Valtteri Bottas
- Alex Albon
- Zhou Guanyu
Leclerc is not happy about his engine issue
Charles Leclerc has been on the radio to his race engineer, Bryan Bozzi, about the engine cutting out when he was in the pit lane.
Leclerc: "What the hell happened, guys?" Leclerc asks
Bozzi: "We took the anti-stall."
Leclerc: "Ah, thank you, but the anti-stall cannot stop the engine! The engine switched off. I don't know if you noticed. There was no engine. I had to redo the ignition and everyone."
Bozzi: "Copy box, we'll talk about it when you're in the garage."
Max Verstappen takes pole for sprint race
The man who's been in control all day nails his lap, taking pole time over Lando Norris by just 0.093 seconds.
🎶The hills are alive🎶
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🎶With the sound of V6 engines🎶
An issue for Leclerc!
Leclerc's engine cut out when he was in the pit lane, delaying his exit. He's going to miss the flag I think...
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Finally!
Everybody out now, led by the two Mercedes.
A quiet start to SQ3
Everyone's in for a single lap at the end of the session. This is going to be very, very close, and any track limits breach will be very costly.
8 minutes on the clock, soft tires on the cars
Darko Bandic / POOL / AFP
Let's settle the front of the grid for tomorrow's sprint race.
Stroll outqualifying Alonso is the biggest surprise in SQ2
The usual names and faces knocked out in the second leg of sprint qualifying. I'm quite surprised to see Lance Stroll outqualify Fernando Alonso in the sister Aston Martin, only 0.031 seconds between them at the end there. Good work from Stroll, one day after confirmation he'll be staying at his father's team for the future.
Sargeant's lap is deleted - but he was out anyway
Logan Sargeant's final lap is deleted for a track limits breach at Turn 6. But it doesn't actually change anything, as he'd have only been 15th anyway. "It didn't make any difference, P15 anyway," says his engineer.
"I didn't quite get T(urn) 1 and T3 right, sorry," says Sargeant.
"We knew it was all in, you did a good job," replies his engineer.
"Good effort Logan, there's plenty of opportunity tomorrow," says team principal James Vowles on the radio.
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Lower midfield not advancing
Those bottom drivers have all put in their first proper runs, and not much has changed: Magnussen, Stroll, Tsunoda and Sargeant remain in the drop zone, along with Alonso. (Sargeant had a nice-looking lap time deleted for a track limits violation.)
Lower midfield opting for a single run in SQ2
Saving tires, the lower midfield runners are going for only a single run in SQ2. All or nothing for them on these final laps.
Everybody's out now with under three minutes left.
Early strength from Verstappen in SQ2
Clive Rose/Getty Images
Max Verstappen has made the Red Bull Ring very much his circuit over the years, and he's not going to let that title go without a fight. Quickest in SQ1, and he's over a tenth clear of the field from the first runs in SQ2. The three-time champion is starting strong.
Hamilton cleans things up
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His first full-tilt lap is nearly a full second faster than his best effort from a shaky first round. His teammate George Russell is sitting second, about two-tenths behind Verstappen in P1.
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