It is qualifying day at the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix.
Friday’s pair of practice sessions offered a slight variation on a somewhat consistent theme from this season: A strong start from McLaren. While Lando Norris sat out the first practice session in favor of young Alex Dunne they still put both cars in the top four in FP1, with Oscar Piastri posting the third-fastest time in the session and Dunne just behind him in fourth.
Norris slid back into the upgraded MCL39 for FP2 and went straight to the top of the timing sheets, with teammate and Drivers’ Championship leader Piastri right behind him in FP2.
However, we have seen this before during the 2025 campaign — a strong start from McLaren only for a rival to take pole position on Saturday. Two drivers who have accomplished that feat recently, George Russell and Max Verstappen, are certainly lurking. Verstappen was second in FP1 and third in FP2, and Russell topped the timing sheets during Friday’s first practice session.
As is often the case, we’ll have all of the qualifying action covered for you throughout the day on Saturday, including live coverage of the qualifying hour. So check back early and often, as the session gets underway at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
Here are the provisional qualifying results, which will be filled in throughout the qualifying hour:
2025 Austrian Grand Prix Qualifying Results
| Row | Position | Driver | Team | Position | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row | Position | Driver | Team | Position | Driver | Team |
| Row 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Row 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| Row 3 | 5 | 6 | ||||
| Row 4 | 7 | 8 | ||||
| Row 5 | 9 | 10 | ||||
| Row 6 | 11 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 12 | Alex Albon | Williams |
| Row 7 | 13 | Isack Hadjar | VCARB | 14 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine |
| Row 8 | 15 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 16 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |
| Row 9 | 17 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 18 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull |
| Row 10 | 19 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Williams | 20 | Nico Hülkenberg | Sauber |
Note: All updates are in Eastern time.
Q3
11:14: Verstappen backs out of his push lap. Norris is purple through sectors one and two. Leclerc cannot improve.
LANDO NORRIS TAKES POLE POSITION AT RED BULL RING!
11:13: Verstappen’s final push lap is underway, and he is green through the first two sectors but still behind Norris’ pace.
11:11: Three minutes remain in Q3 and the fight for pole is on, as the ten drivers roll out of the pits for their final push laps.
11:09: Norris’ lap has him 0.224 seconds ahead of Leclerc.
Piastri’s scuffle in Turn 1 means that he can find more time, but as qualifying heads to the final moments this looks like Norris’ pole position to lose.
Russell has been noted for an unsafe release, dipping a wheel into the fast lane along pit lane while the Ferrari pair was rolling by the Mercedes garages.
11:08: Norris jumps to P1 with a 1:04.268. Leclerc then pumps in a solid lap that is good for P2, splitting the McLaren duo. Verstappen’s lap is good for P6, behind both McLarens, both Ferraris, and Russell who is in fifth.
11:07: Piastri jumps to P1 but Norris is purple through the first two sectors.
11:06: Piastri will be the first to post a time, but he was slower through the first sector than he has been earlier today.
11:04: At the ten-minute mark pit lane comes alive as the McLarens head out, along with Verstappen, Leclerc, Gasly, and Antonelli.
11:02: We have a green light at Red Bull Ring.
Also, it is hard not to feel like this is a consequential moment in the Drivers’ Championship fight. Norris has been so strong this week and again today, and has always been strong in Austria. But we have seen a few times already this season Norris falter in Q3 when he has been strong all week, and one gets the sense that if he delivers pole position here in the next 12 minutes, it could alter the course of the title fight.
Q2 Notes
11:00: Race officials took a look at an incident involving Norris and Leclerc where the McLaren driver may have impeded with Leclerc, but officials then dismissed the incident.
10:59: No, your eyes were not deceiving you. Red Bull fans brought out a Sid the Sloth flag for Verstappen:
10:54: Antonelli survives. The five drivers eliminated are Alonso, Albon, Hadjar, Colapinto, and Bearman. Bortoleto makes Q3 for the first time in his F1 career, as he finished fifth. Gasly finishes sixth, and with Russell and Antonelli in P7 and P10, respectively, Mercedes has some work to do in Q3.
10:53: The Mercedes duo of Russell and Antonelli are fighting for a spot in Q3. Antonelli jumps to P8, while Russell then jumps to P5, dropping Antonelli to P9.
Russell is behind Bortoleto, which feels notable.
10:52: 90 remain in Q2 and the final push laps are underway. Bearman comes across with a lap that jumps him to P9, while Bortoleto jumps to P3, which might be enough to get him through to Q3.
10:49: The clock hits the four-minute mark and all hell breaks loose, as all 15 drivers roar out of their respective garages. That sets up some traffic on pit lane. But with Red Bull Ring the shortest lap on the F1 calendar, this should still be enough time for all 15 drivers to post one more push lap.
10:48: Thankfully, the light is green and the clock is ticking again. Now five minutes remain in Q2, but nobody has returned to the track just yet.
10:47: Still no word from race control when the session will resume. As a result the commentary box on F1TV is filling some time. “When I close my eyes I get scared,” says 13-time race winner David Coulthard when asked if he used visualization exercises.
So, yeah.
10:41: As we wait for the session to resume, the five drivers in the drop zone are: Albon, Bearman, Alonso, Bortoleto, and Colapinto.
10:39: The red flag is out as there is a grass fire near the final corner. The clock is stopped with 5:42 remaining.
10:38: Piastri jumps to P1 for a moment, but then Norris takes the spot away from him. Norris posts a lap of 1:04.401, with Piastri 0.146 seconds behind him.
Leclerc jumps to third and Hamilton fourth as the Ferraris use fresh softs.
Verstappen’s lap is good for fifth, and he complains that the car is “undriveable,” and that he has “no grip.” Replays show the Red Bull driver fighting the steering at various moments over his recent push lap.
10:37: Lawson jumps to P1 and Hadjar to P3. It is worth noting the Ferrari duo posted their early laps on used soft tires, while the VCARB pair used fresh soft tires.
10:36: With ten minutes left in Q2 only three drivers have posted a lap time. Leclerc leads the way, followed by Hamilton and Albon.
However, the track is filled now as the rest of the Q2 participants take on Red Bull Ring.
10:30: Q2 is underway, with 15 minutes on the clock. The Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are the first two cars on the track.
Q1 Notes
10:25: The five drivers eliminated: Stroll, Ocon, Tsunoda, Sainz, and Hülkenberg.
There are some fascinating results from Q1 inside the top five. After the McLaren duo of Norris and Piastri in P1 and P2, Liam Lawson finished third, Pierre Gasly in fourth, and Isack Hadjar in fifth.
Verstappen finished sixth in Q1.
10:23: Yuki Tsunoda is out, he’s currently in P17 as the clock runs to zero.
10:23: Alonso jumps to P8, but does so on his third new set of soft tires. It might be enough to get him to Q2, but his day might end there even if he advances.
10:21: Two minutes remain in Q1, and these are the five drivers in the drop zone: Sainz, Nico Hülkenberg, Stroll, Bearman, and Alonso.
10:19: Albon jumps to P4. There is time to be found on the track, and no one should feel safe right now.
10:18: Bortoleto pulls himself out of the drop zone and jumps to P5 with a tremendous lap. While the Sauber rookie has yet to score a point this season, he has been strong all week long at Red Bull Ring.
10:17: Seven minutes remain in Q1 and the five drivers in the drop zone are: Gabriel Bortoleto, Alex Albon, Oliver Bearman, Fernando Alonso, and Carlos Sainz Jr.
Lance Stroll sits in P15 and is currently the “driver at risk.”
10:15: Piastri, who was down in P19 after a slide on an earlier push lap, jumps to P2 with a strong effort. But he is still 0.332 behind Norris.
10:14: Franco Colapinto has a lap time deleted for exceeding track limits, which has been an issue at Red Bull Ring in recent seasons. Here is a refresher on that infraction, from the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix, when it was a massive storyline.
10:13: Verstappen goewst to the top of the timing sheets, but only for a moment. Norris eclipses him by 0.434 seconds moments later to take the top spot.
10:05: We have a green light at the end of pit lane at Red Bull Ring, and qualifying is underway. Alex Albon leads the drivers out followed by the Aston Martin pair of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.
9:59: As a reminder, qualifying in F1 is spread over three segments. In the first, Q1, all 20 drivers participate and have 18 minutes to post lap times. At the end of the 18 minutes the five slowest drivers are eliminated, and the 15 remaining drivers advance to Q2. The clock will reset with 15 minutes on it, and the laps begin again. At the end of those 15 minutes the five slowest drivers are eliminated, leaving ten drivers left for Q3, the 12 minute shootout.
9:58: Race control notes that Q1 will start at 4:05 local time/10:05 Eastern.
FP3 Notes
9:41: Norris again topped the timing sheets in FP3, ahead of Piastri and Verstappen. But we have seen this before, with the McLaren driver leading the way up until Q3, where he opens the door for one of his rivals to nip him for pole position.
Will that happen again, or is this going to be Norris’ day?
