Lando Norris set the fastest time during Qualifying at the Austrian GP, claiming a spectacular pole position. Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri followed in second and third place.
What happened at the Austrian GP so far?
McLaren look to be the team to beat heading into Qualifying at the 2025 Austrian GP, with Lando Norris topping the final practice session thanks to an impressive 1:04.324. Team-mate Oscar Piastri was just behind in second, continuing his strong weekend form, while Max Verstappen rounded out the top three.
The weekend began with George Russell setting the pace in FP1, narrowly ahead of Verstappen, while Piastri kept McLaren in the mix in third. Rookie Alex Dunne impressed in fourth during his mandatory session, stepping in for Norris.
Friday’s FP2 saw a return to form for McLaren, with Norris and Piastri locking out the top two spots. Verstappen remained consistently close in third, but it was Lance Stroll who surprised many by finishing fourth, ahead of both Mercedes and Ferrari. Alpine, on the other hand, continued to struggle throughout the practice sessions.
With McLaren showing strong pace across all three sessions, they head into Qualifying as clear frontrunners at the Red Bull Ring.
Q1
Interesting for this Qualifying session at the Austrian GP was the heat, which increased throughout the day and caused problems for some teams – how long would the soft tyres last?
The midfield and backmarker teams were the first to venture out on red soft tyres. Esteban Ocon set the first fast time with a 1:05.700.
Max Verstappen set a significantly faster time with a 1:05.106 – but he made a mistake in Turn 4, which cost him time. He was promptly overtaken by Lando Norris, who clocked a 1:04.672.
Things didn’t look so good for Mercedes – the heat affected the tyres more than hoped.
In the closing stages of the first segment of Qualifying at the 2025 Austrian GP, Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, Oliver Bearman, Fernando Alonso, and Carlos Sainz found themselves in the drop zone.
With the session proving tight, several drivers opted for a second set of soft tyres to avoid any risk. Albon made the most of his second run, jumping up to fifth, while Sainz improved but only reached P14 after a scruffy final sector, forcing him to attempt another lap.
As the clock ticked down, the entire field returned to the track to capitalise on improving conditions. Lawson took advantage, going third, and Stroll briefly climbed to P12, pushing Tsunoda into danger. Alonso finally delivered a competitive time, going eighth.
Russell found himself at risk but just scraped through in P11 despite a mistake in the middle sector. Stroll and Sainz failed to improve enough to escape the drop zone, and with neither Hülkenberg nor Tsunoda setting final laps, the eliminations were confirmed.
All 20 drivers were within one second of the end of the session.
Out in Q1 at the Austrian GP: Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon, Yuki Tsunoda, Carlos Sainz, Nico Hülkenberg.
Q2
Both Ferraris and the remaining Williams, Alex Albon, were the first on track during the second segment of Qualifying at the Austrian GP 2025.
Charles Leclerc set the early benchmark with a 1:05.446, two tenths ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Albon followed in third, though six-tenths adrift, as more drivers began to join the session.
A variety of tyre strategies unfolded. Hadjar and Lawson opted for fresh tyres, while Mercedes, Bearman, and Colapinto ran used sets. Ferrari quickly responded by sending both cars back out on new softs, joined by the McLarens and Verstappen also on fresh tyres.
With nine minutes left, Lawson briefly went quickest, but Verstappen soon edged ahead by a tenth and a half. However, McLaren stamped their authority once again: Piastri went six-tenths clear of Verstappen, only to be outpaced moments later by Norris, who led his team-mate by a further tenth and a half.
Ferrari improved on their new tyres. Leclerc moved up to third, Hamilton to fourth. But both remained nearly half a second off Norris’s pace, highlighting McLaren’s significant advantage.
Red flag due to fire on the grass
The session was then unexpectedly halted with 5:42 on the clock, not due to a crash but because of a small fire near the final corner. Marshals responded swiftly as drivers were brought back into their garages. The fire was probably lit by Hamiltwon on his latest push lap, using the kerb too much and going over the white lines onto the grass.
Q2 restart
As the final stage of Q2 unfolded, Albon, Bearman, Alonso, Bortoleto, and Colapinto occupied the drop zone, with Albon three tenths shy of the top ten. At that stage, the Racing Bulls duo and Gasly appeared to be in contention for Q3 spots.
With four minutes remaining, the cars returned to the track, once again on a mix of tyre strategies. Both McLaren and Ferrari felt confident enough to run used tyres, while Verstappen and most of those below him opted for fresh rubber. Albon, however, went back out on the same set he had used prior to the earlier red flag.
In the final two minutes, Bearman was on a flying lap but struggled to improve significantly, managing ninth, though it looked unlikely to be enough. Bortoleto found a big gain, briefly jumping to third, only for Verstappen to narrowly edge him out by just 0.010 seconds.
As the session reached its conclusion, the field tightened and several drivers made late improvements. Leclerc reclaimed third from Verstappen, Gasly moved up to sixth ahead of Russell, and Antonelli found himself precariously placed in P10.
Hadjar took the chequered flag in 11th, just missing out. Bearman and Colapinto also failed to improve enough, while Alonso ended up 11th and Albon, despite a late push, could only manage 12th.
Eliminated in Q2 at the Austrian GP: Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, Isack Hadjar, Franco Colapinto, and Ollie Bearman.
Q3
The final Qualifying segment at the Austrian GP saw a fierce fight for pole position.
With ten minutes to go in Q3, both McLaren and Ferrari had the advantage of having only used two sets of fresh softs, leaving them with two new sets for the final shootout. In contrast, Verstappen, the Mercedes pair, and Bortoleto had already used three, while Lawson and Gasly had no fresh tyres left after using four sets.
As the first flying laps were completed, it was all about Lando Norris. He went purple in the first two sectors and set a blistering 1:04.268. Nearly three tenths clear of Piastri, who had a small moment on the exit of Turn 1. Leclerc, on a fresh set of softs, managed to split the McLarens, going second and just over two tenths down on Norris. Hamilton slotted into fourth, showing encouraging signs from Ferrari’s new floor upgrade. Russell, on used tyres, went fifth ahead of Verstappen.
With five minutes remaining, the first runs were done, though Lawson held back for a single-lap effort. The order stood as Norris leading from Leclerc and Piastri, with Hamilton, Russell, and Verstappen behind. Antonelli, Bortoleto, and Gasly rounded out the top 10, and Russell’s earlier unsafe release was noted by the stewards.
Final laps
As the final laps began in scorching conditions and minimal traffic, all eyes were on whether anyone could dethrone Norris. Verstappen could only manage seventh and abandoned his lap at Red Bull’s home circuit. Lawson impressed by going sixth, ahead of his former team-mate. Piastri’s hopes were dashed when yellow flags appeared, caused by Gasly, forcing him to abort his final run.
In the end, Norris secured pole position by a staggering margin of over half a second—an exceptional achievement on a short lap—having topped every session across the weekend.
Final Qualifying results at the 2025 Austrian GP
- Lando Norris
- Charles Leclerc
- Oscar Piastri
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Liam Lawson
- Max Verstappen
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Kimi Antonelli
- Pierre Gasly
- Fernando Alonso
- Alex Albon
- Isack Hadjar
- Franco Colapinto
- Oliver Bearman
- Lance Stroll
- Esteban Ocon
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Carlos Sainz
- Nico Hülkenberg
