Formula 1 2025 Austrian Grand Prix qualifying results: Lando Norris and McLaren Outpaces Red Bull on their own backyard

Highlights

• Lando Norris beats Max Verstappen in his own backyard.
• The yellow flag in Q3 affected Verstappen's session.
• Gabriel Bortoleto finished on P8, which is his best qualifying result so far.

McLaren driver Lando Norris has beaten Red Bull and Max Verstappen in their own backyard in Austria. The British driver set the fastest lap time and will start on pole in tomorrow's main race. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc finished in P2 after a disappointing Canadian GP. Championship leader Oscar Piastri missed out on pole after he was distracted by the yellow flag on the final session of the race. Max Verstappen had a big upset as he will start behind his former teammate and VCARB driver Liam Lawson in P7. 

Here are the 2025 Formula 1 Austrian GP qualifying results

 Qualifying session Summary

Q1: The first session started with Max Verstappen setting the fastest lap time. As usual, the two McLarens fought back with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri pushing Max to the back of the grid. Surprisingly, the two Ferrari drivers had some great pace and finished inside the top 5. The biggest of all was the Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson, finishing at the top by the end of that session. 

Even the Red Bull crew were stunned by the pace of Lawson in Spielberg. Their second driver, Yuki Tsunoda, struggled with the car and was eliminated in the first round. Williams Racing driver Carlos Sainz was also shocked to see his name in the final five alongside Ocon, Hulkenberg, Tsunoda, and Stroll. 

Drivers to get eliminated: Nico Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll

Q2: Norris continued his good form into the second session as he beat his teammate, Oscar Piastri, by a hundredth of a second. The biggest hit was for Fernando Alonso as the veteran missed out on a Q3 finish. Williams Racing also lost their second car in Q2 as Alex Albon finished 12th fastest ahead of Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar, Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman. Sauber’s Bortoleto surprised everyone with a top 10 finish, and that too in P5. His Audi future is very bright if he does well in the remaining races of this season.

Drivers to get eliminated: Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, Isack Hadjar, Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman

Q3: The final session started with Lando Norris setting the fastest lap time and earning a provisional pole advantage. The final run was complete drama as Alpine driver Pierre Gasly spun on the final corner, bringing the Yellow flag, which disrupted Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri as they backed out of the challenge. With this, Lando Norris has set the fastest lap and clinched pole in Austria. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc split the two McLaren and finished in P2 ahead of Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton.

Red Bull would be disappointed with the results as McLaren F1 has beaten them in their own backyard in Spielberg. Max was distracted by the yellow flag as his DRS was shut down immediately. The track favours McLaren cars, and they are expected to dominate the grid this year. The Main race will be more intense as Verstappen will start behind his former teammate, Liam Lawson, in P7.

Also Read: Austrian Grand Prix 2025: Practice 1 Classification Results and Standings