Lando Norris delivered a superb final flying lap in his McLaren on Saturday to end Max Verstappen’s run of domination in qualifying at the Red Bull Ring by claiming pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix.
The race is due to start at 15:00 (SA time).
The 25-year-old Briton clocked an outstanding lap in one minute and 3.971 seconds to outpace nearest rival Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by 0.521 seconds, with McLaren team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri third.
Norris, who is 22 points behind Piastri in the drivers’ title race, erased any hangover from his collision with Piastri in Canada two weeks ago with a thrilling demonstration of his speed and talent.
Verstappen had taken pole position at the Red Bull-owned circuit in the Styrian Alps for the last five F1 races before Norris succeeded and seized his first pole in Austria, his third of the season and 12th of his career.
‘Quick all weekend’
Team-mate Piastri was disappointed and frustrated.
“I had (Pierre) Gasly spin at the first corner so I didn’t even open my second lap. Lando’s been very quick all weekend so it would have been a tough challenge, but we had the pace to be on the front row.
“We can still have a good race from there and we are not here to come home third.”
Leclerc’s team-mate and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was an encouraging fourth ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls, four-time champion Verstappen of Red Bull and Gabriel Bortoleto of Sauber.
Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli was ninth in the second Mercedes and Gasly 10th.
Starting grid for the Austrian Grand Prix
Front row
Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren)
Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)
2nd row
Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren)
Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Ferrari)
3rd row
George Russell (GBR/Mercedes)
Liam Lawson (NZL/RB)
4th row
Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull)
Gabriel Bortoleto (BRA/Sauber)
5th row
Kimi Antonelli (ITA/Mercedes)
Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine)
6th row
Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin)
Alex Albon (THA/Williams)
7th row
Isack Hadjar (FRA/RB)
Franco Colapinto (ARG/Alpine)
8th row
Oliver Bearman (GBR/Haas)
Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin)
9th row
Esteban Ocon (FRA/Haas)
Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/Red Bull)
10th row
Carlos Sainz (ESP/Williams)
Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Sauber)
Standings ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix
Drivers
| Rank | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | 198 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | 176 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | 155 |
| 4 | George Russell | 136 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | 104 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | 79 |
| 7 | Kimi Antonelli | 63 |
| 8 | Alex Albon | 42 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | 22 |
| 10 | Isack Hadjar | 21 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | 20 |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | 14 |
| 13 | Carlos Sainz | 13 |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly | 11 |
| 15 | Yuki Tsunoda | 10 |
| 16 | Fernando Alonso | 8 |
| 17 | Oliver Bearman | 6 |
| 18 | Liam Lawson | 4 |
| 19 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 0 |
| 20 | Franco Colapinto | 0 |
| 21 | Jack Doohan | 0 |
Constructors
| Rank | Constructor | Points |
| 1 | McLaren | 374 |
| 2 | Mercedes | 199 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 183 |
| 4 | Red Bull | 162 |
| 5 | Williams | 55 |
| 6 | Haas | 28 |
| 7 | Racing Bulls | 28 |
| 8 | Aston Martin | 22 |
| 9 | Sauber | 20 |
| 10 | Alpine | 11 |
Who will win Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix?
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