Norris dominates qualifying to take pole in Austria

The McLaren driver set the fastest time in every phase of qualifying, with a best lap of 1m03.971s earning him his 12th career pole and third of the 2025 season.

Norris finished a commanding 0.521s ahead of Charles Leclerc, marking the largest pole margin so far this year and giving McLaren its first pole in Austria since Mika Häkkinen in 2000.

“It was a good lap that’s for sure,” Norris said. “I did what I planned to do. When I plan to do something and it goes right, it usually goes very well.

“It’s been a good weekend for me so far, so hopefully we can keep it up.”

The British driver has now topped every session he’s taken part in this weekend, making him the clear favourite heading into Sunday’s race.

Leclerc edged Oscar Piastri for a spot on the front row after the Australian was forced to abort his final lap due to a yellow flag in the final sector, triggered by a spin from Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.

Piastri had run closely behind Norris in both Q1 and Q2, and ended up just six hundredths behind the impressive Leclerc.

“I think we easily had enough pace in the car to be on the front row,” he said. “It’s always a shame when you don’t get the chance [for a final run].

“I think our pace this weekend has looked very strong. I’m not planning on finishing third, that’s for sure.”

The second Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also impressed, recovering from technical issues on Friday to qualify fourth — equalling his best start for the Scuderia — while Canadian GP polesitter George Russell will line up fifth.

Liam Lawson delivered arguably the standout performance of qualifying with a superb sixth, his best grid position of 2025 and the second-best of his F1 career. His effort made him the highest-placed Red Bull driver, with Max Verstappen also caught out by the late yellow flag and only managing seventh — the first time he hasn’t started on pole in Austria since 2020.

Another standout was Gabriel Bortoleto, who broke through for his first-ever Q3 appearance with an impressive eighth-place effort. The Sauber rookie has featured in the top ten in every session so far this weekend and will now aim for his first career points on Sunday.

Kimi Antonelli qualified ninth for Mercedes, while the recovering Gasly rounded out the top ten despite his late-session spin.

Q2 was red-flagged with five minutes remaining after Lewis Hamilton ran wide at Turn 10, spreading gravel onto the circuit and sparking a skid block grass fire.

The stoppage lasted around seven minutes, with all drivers having set their banker laps before the break.

Fernando Alonso and Alex Albon narrowly missed out on Q3 and will start 11th and 12th respectively, while Isack Hadjar failed to make Q3 for the first time since Miami. The French driver will start the race from 13th.

Franco Colapinto and Ollie Bearman were also eliminated in Q2 and will line up 14th and 15th.

Two big names were eliminated in Q1, with both Yuki Tsunoda and Carlos Sainz failing to progress beyond the first part of qualifying.

Tsunoda complained of a lack of front grip during the session, with the Japanese driver knocked out in Q1 for the third time in the last five races. He will start 18th, one spot ahead of Sainz.

The Spaniard also reported car issues, describing it as “undriveable” as he suffered his third consecutive Q1 elimination.

Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon, and Nico Hulkenberg were also knocked out in the opening phase and will start 16th, 17th, and 20th respectively.

Action continues at the Austrian Grand Prix with the race beginning at 3pm local time tomorrow (11pm AEST).