Red Bull secure front row lockout for Sprint in Austria

Red Bull have locked out the front row ahead of tonight’s Sprint, beating out tough conditions and tough competitors to secure the 1-2 start in Austria.

Sprint Qualifying 1:

Despite the threat of rain looming in the nearby Styrian hills, all drivers left their garages on slick tyres, bar the Williams duo, to commence the opening 12-minute session of the Sprint Shootout. 

Their exploratory lap saw Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon both return to the pits, making to switch to the preferred dry tyre. 

They weren’t the only drivers forced to abandon their first flying laps, with Carlos Sainz reporting of a brake-by-wire failure after his brake pedal felt reportedly ‘strange’.

It was a concerning sight for the Tifosi, with the Ferrari driver’s rear brakes smoking as he was wheeled back into his garage.

Zhou Guanyu took an overly ambitious approach on entry to Turn 9, resulting in a big spin for the Alfa Romeo driver.

On the soft tyre, Albon impressed, jumping to the top of the order on his first attempt, over two-tenths quicker than Lando Norris in P2. 

Verstappen, running on the medium tyre, assumed his spot near the top, marginally behind his teammate. 

Lewis Hamilton found temporary comfort among the quickest times, only to lose out in the final round of flying laps when the 7-time world champion returned to the pits on his own accord.

He was eliminated and set to start the Sprint from P18, while his teammate made it through to the second stage of the Shootout, qualifying in P7.

With a minute remaining, Sainz was able to rejoin the session.

The Spaniard had one chance to set a time quick enough to advance, and that he did, jumping to the top of the timing sheets.

Meanwhile, further down the order, Charles Leclerc found himself at risk after a lacklustre opening to the Shootout, and only on his final attempt, punched in a lap safe by the slimmest of margins.

Joining Hamilton in an early end to the session were Sargeant, Bottas, Piastri and Zhou. 

Sprint Qualifying 2:

Verstappen was the first to set a timed lap, recording a 1:05.624 on the soft tyre, a change from his SQ1 medium running. 

Sainz jumped to second fastest, continuing to prove himself as a threat for Sprint pole, while Leclerc still lacked pace.

The Monegasque driver’s first attempt saw him only good enough for P9.

Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 3 for the first half of the session before Perez, attempting to redeem himself after his disaster Friday qualifying, improved to P2.

With 3 minutes remaining in the session, Mercedes confirmed George Russell would not be taking part in the remainder of SQ2, with his mechanics working busily on a hydraulics issue with his W14.

Kevin Magnussen impressed by jumping to P2, followed by another huge effort from Esteban Ocon which saw the French driver jump to P1. 

With the clock counting down, Leclerc started his final attempt, looking to recover from the elimination zone. 

Leclerc jumped to P4 in front of Norris and Magnussen, with his teammate ahead in P2. 

Magnussen wasn’t the only Haas to make it through to SQ3, with Hulkenberg ending the session in P10. 

With the ten quickest drivers of SQ2 advancing, Albon, Pierre Gasly, both Alpha Tauris and Russell were left behind. 

Sprint Qualifying 3:

The Bulls led the final charge out for the top ten shootout, with reports of rain closing in echoing across the radio waves. 

Verstappen once again set the benchmark time, this time around it was a 1:04.613 that put the Dutchman on provisional Sprint pole.

Norris in the McLaren split the Red Bull duo, setting a time almost 4-tenths behind Verstappen. 

Leclerc joined the session with 5 minutes remaining, setting personal best sectors across the lap, however, still lacking in comparison the Verstappen’s times, as well as his teammate’s in P4.

With one minute left on the clock, Hulkenberg set off on his final flying lap, and with the Ferraris failing to improve on their positions in P5 and P6, secured fourth on the grid.

Aston Martin’s Canada dominance drifted further back in the past, with Alonso and Lance Stroll failing to impress in the final moments of SQ3.

The duo will start tonight’s Sprint from P7 and P8, ahead of Ocon and Magnussen who rounded out the top ten.

The top order adjusted itself slightly from the drivers’ first attempts, with Verstappen remaining with Sprint pole, and Perez and Norris switching positions to end in that order. 

Lights out for the Sprint race will take place at 12:30 am, Sunday (AEST).

Sprint Shootout Results:

Download the full F1 Austrian Grand Prix event guide HERE with track stats and facts and a full event schedule, plus our extensive driver profiles.

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