***RacerViews coverage of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship was on hold so our team could enjoy some time away, please enjoy our post-session recaps before the 2024 British Grand Prix this weekend***
It was once again another Verstappen/Norris front-row as the current weekend favorite stormed his way to the pole for Sunday’s race over McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ George Russell. With a stellar first run in Q3, the Dutch driver was on his way to a sure pole before laying down the gauntlet in his final run to go quickest over the entire weekend with a 1:04.341sec lap, over four tenths clear of rival Norris.
HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the qualifying action from Austria as Verstappen charges to pole
Q1 Results:
Quiet for much of the weekend, it was Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who set the pace in Q1 after his lap on new soft compound tires usurped the Mercedes of George Russell as Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen slotted in behind the Ferrari driver. Lewis Hamilton once again found himself under threat of relegation as the laps poured in, but was able to jump to P6 at the end of the session, though no one felt safe as everyone from P4 down were close enough that anyone was at risk for elimination. As the clock ran out, it was the end of the day for the Williams and Kick Sauber Duo as Lance Stroll joined them in the bottom 5 grid slots.
Drivers out in Q1:
- 16th: Alex Albon (Williams)
- 17th: Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- 18th: Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber)
- 19th: Logan Sargaent (Williams)
- 20th: Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber)
Q2 Results:
Verstappen once again topped the sheets in Q2 having set the pace early in the run before coming back near the end of the session to further improve on this time as George Russell and Oscar Piastri could only watch the Dutchman push them from the top spot. The story, however, came in the form of Fernando Alonso’s shock exit at the end of Q2 in 15th position as he was joined by the RB duo of Ricciardo and Tsundo, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, and the Haas of Kevin Magnussen.
Drivers out in Q2:
- 11th: Daniel Ricciardo (RB)
- 12th: Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
- 13th: Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- 14th: Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
- 15th: Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
Q3 Results:
Q3 kicked off after a brief gravel clean-up delay and saw Max Verstappen emerge on pole ahead of Lando Norris and George Russell. The Red Bull was no match for the McLaren and Mercedes drivers, going quickest in his initial runs before outpacing that initial time at the end for the quickest lap of the weekend. Carlos Sainz continued his strong weekend in Austria, the Ferrari driver once again finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton in 4th and 5th spots, as Charles LeClerc qualified sixth despite running off track in his final run. Oscar Piastri would qualify 7th after having a lap deleted for exceeding track limits and Perez, Hulkenberg, and Ocon would round out the top 10 grid positions, although Hulkenberg faces potential penalties for several pit lane infractions.
And with that, Saturday’s running in concluded and teams will prepare overnight for Sunday’s main event as Verstappen will lead the grid to lights out. Tune in live for all the action starting at 15:00 local time and check back here for our post race report.
Free Practice 1 Report – CLICK HERE
Sprint Qualifying Report – CLICK HERE
Sprint Report – CLICK HERE
FORMULA 1 QATAR AIRWAYS AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX 2024 Schedule
| Date | Session | Time (Local Circuit) |
| June 28th | Practice 1 | 12:30 – 13:30 |
| Sprint Qualifying | 16:30 – 17:14 | |
| June 29th | Sprint Shootout | 13:30 |
| Qualifying | 16:00 – 17:00 | |
| June 30th | Race | 15:00 |
Qualifying Results:
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | LAPS |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:05.336 | 1:04.469 | 1:04.314 | 18 |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:05.450 | 1:05.103 | 1:04.718 | 20 |
| 3 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:05.585 | 1:05.016 | 1:04.840 | 18 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:05.263 | 1:05.016 | 1:04.851 | 18 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:05.541 | 1:05.053 | 1:04.903 | 18 |
| 6 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:05.509 | 1:05.104 | 1:05.044 | 22 |
| 7 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:05.311 | 1:05.070 | 1:05.048 | 17 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:05.587 | 1:05.144 | 1:05.202 | 21 |
| 9 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 1:05.596 | 1:05.262 | 1:05.385 | 21 |
| 10 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:05.574 | 1:05.274 | 1:05.883 | 24 |
| 11 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:05.569 | 1:05.289 | 15 | |
| 12 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:05.508 | 1:05.347 | 15 | |
| 13 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:05.598 | 1:05.359 | 18 | |
| 14 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:05.563 | 1:05.412 | 15 | |
| 15 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:05.656 | 1:05.639 | 15 | |
| 16 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:05.736 | 9 | ||
| 17 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:05.819 | 9 | ||
| 18 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:05.847 | 9 | ||
| 19 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:05.856 | 9 | ||
| 20 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:06.061 | 9 |
