Lando Norris Secures Dominant Pole at Austrian GP Qualifying

Lando Norris claimed a commanding pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix. Late yellow flags in the session frustrated championship leader Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.

Norris showed superb form throughout the weekend, having topped every practice session. He secured pole by over half a second ahead of Charles Leclerc, marking the largest pole margin of the 2025 season so far.

Piastri, currently 22 points ahead of Norris in the standings, and Verstappen were prevented from completing their final Q3 laps due to a yellow flag caused by Pierre Gasly`s spin. However, it appeared unlikely either driver would have been able to match Norris`s pace.

Lewis Hamilton achieved his best qualifying result of the year in fourth place, just ahead of George Russell in fifth. Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls qualified sixth.

Verstappen, 43 points adrift of Piastri in the championship, ended up seventh. He was on course for a front-row start before being forced to abandon his final lap because of Gasly`s incident just before the penultimate corner.

Sauber`s Gabriel Bortoleto reached Q3 for the first time, qualifying eighth. He was followed by Mercedes` Kimi Antonelli in ninth and Gasly in tenth.

Red Bull`s Yuki Tsunoda had his third consecutive Q1 exit and will start Sunday`s race from 18th position.

Lando Norris` Dominant Performance

After an incident with his team-mate in Canada, Norris rebounded strongly in Austria. He sat out the first practice session for Irish driver Alex Dunne but then topped both Free Practice 2 and Free Practice 3.

Norris comfortably led Q1. Piastri was only a tenth slower in Q2, suggesting a close fight for pole was likely.

However, Norris found another level in Q3. He set a strong provisional pole time of 1:04.268 on his first run, then improved further with a blistering 1:03.971 on his final attempt.

Sky Sports F1`s Naomi Schiff: “We`ll never really know how close they would have got to him, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, but you`ve got to say hats off to Lando. He put it together, he didn`t mess up the lap, and it`s been outstanding from him so far this weekend.”

“My Q3 run one was good, but I knew I could find more time if I executed it perfectly,” Norris stated. “I did exactly what I planned, and when things go right like that, the result is usually very good. I`m extremely happy. It`s been a great weekend for me so far, and I hope to keep this momentum.” He added, “It`s a long season, and I really cherish moments like this, especially as I`ve had some tougher times in qualifying. Delivering this kind of lap and performance is very satisfying personally. I`m excited and eager to keep proving myself.”

Piastri was nearly three tenths behind Norris after his first run in Q3. The yellow flag from Gasly`s spin occurred just as Piastri was starting his crucial final lap. With DRS briefly disabled, he couldn`t get a strong exit onto the straight, preventing him from mounting a challenge.

“Lando was incredibly fast all weekend, and beating him would have been difficult,” Piastri commented. “But I felt we had the pace for a front-row start this weekend. It`s always frustrating when you don`t even get the chance to show it on the last lap. Sometimes it`s just not your day, but we can still aim for a good race from here.”

Verstappen was on track for second or third place before the yellow flags. Starting seventh presents a significant challenge for him to secure a record sixth win at the Red Bull Ring. He expressed dissatisfaction with his car`s balance in qualifying but showed strong race pace in final practice.

Leclerc benefited from the late drama to secure his third front-row start of the year in second place. Hamilton`s fourth place marked his best Saturday performance of 2025, providing encouragement for Ferrari, especially with their new floor upgrades.

Lawson achieved his best qualifying result in sixth, while his Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar was eliminated in Q2, finishing 13th.

Like Tsunoda, Williams` Carlos Sainz also failed to get out of Q1 for the third successive time and will start from the back row alongside Sauber`s Nico Hulkenberg.

Austrian GP Qualifying: Top 10 Results