Max Verstappen was the favorite for qualifying for the Austrian GP and the Dutchman, who had not led either Q1 or Q2, was the fastest when it counted and took his third pole of the year (the 16th in Formula 1), the which will allow him to start first in the sprint race this Saturday.
The Dutchman beat Charles Leclerc by just 91 thousandths in the first attempt of Q3, and from there the session was complicated. With five minutes to go, the round was red-flagged when Lewis Hamilton suffered an accident at turn 7 that was sadly celebrated by the Dutch fans in the stands. The English, if nothing changes, will start tenth on Saturday.
It all resumed with five and a half minutes still remaining, and while the Red Bulls waited in the pits, others rushed out. Among them George Russell, who lost control of his Mercedes and went off in lane 10, where he ended up hitting his car against the protections. The young Briton will also be investigated for walking the track to return to the pitlane, although having set a time on the first attempt, he will start fifth.
When the green light flashed for the third time in Q3, there were 2:31 left, and at the end of the pitlane a little train had formed. Leclerc, the fastest in Q1 and Q2, lowered his mark and at times had pole position, while Sainz stayed close to him. However, Verstappen still had to go through the goal, who ended up winning by 29 thousandth against Leclerc (0.029s) and 82 against Sainz (0.082s).
In a world of the first three (more than four tenths) and with no option for anything important, Sergio Pérez was fourth. The Mexican is being investigated for having been able to jump the track limits at turn 8 during Q2.
The battle between the Alpines and the Haas was won by Esteban Ocon, sixth ahead of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher. Alonso , who did not find the definitive rhythm in the complicated Q3, was the slowest and will start ninth, just with Hamilton behind.
As we had seen in Formula 2, many drivers saw their laps erased by race management for breaking the limits of the track, especially in the last corner (10) and especially in Q1 and Q2. Also, since the violation lap and the next one are erased, it takes a long time to get a valid lap back.
After a problematic FP1, the McLarens continued with their gray Friday, and their drivers will start 15th and 16th after Ricciardo fell in Q1 and Norris finished last in Q2.
F1 Austrian GP 2022 Qualifying Results
(Click on ‘See results’ to enjoy the entire table)
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
7 | 1’04.984 | ||
| 2 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
8 | 1’05.013 | 0.029 | 0.029 |
| 3 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
8 | 1’05,066 | 0.082 | 0.053 |
| 4 |  Sergio Perez |
 |
6 | 1’05,404 | 0.420 | 0.338 |
| 5 |  George Russell |
 |
7 | 1’05.431 | 0.447 | 0.027 |
| 6 |  Esteban Ocon |
 |
7 | 1’05.726 | 0.742 | 0.295 |
| 7 |  Kevin Magnussen |
 |
7 | 1’05.879 | 0.895 | 0.153 |
| 8 |  Mick Schumacher |
 |
7 | 1’06.011 | 1.027 | 0.132 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
8 | 1’06.103 | 1.119 | 0.092 |
| 10 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
4 | 1’13.151 | 8.167 | 7.048 |
| see results | ||||||
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo de: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
This was the Q1 of the Austrian GP classification
As soon as the green light came on, half of the grid took to the track, and the Ferraris, with used soft tires (although without much mileage) took the lead while Verstappen and Hamilton continued in the box. In the first round, Sainz beat Leclerc by four tenths, but his lap was erased for breaking the track limits at turn 10, forcing him to make a second attempt.
The same thing happened to Latifi and Stroll, as Alonso took the lead on his first lap on softs. The track improved and the Haas overtook Alonso, until Leclerc dropped to 1:06.200. There were still 10 minutes left when Verstappen came out and moved into the lead before the lap was taken from him, leaving Pérez first with Alonso second just 56 thousandths behind.
With five minutes to go, Verstappen was finally able to complete a good lap to take first place, although Sainz and Leclerc beat him instantly. In the closing minutes, Guanyu Zhou, the Aston Martins and the Williams were in the elimination zone. Albon improved, which caused Daniel Ricciardo to fall, who fell in that Q1 along with Sebastian Vettel (last after erasing a lap), Lance Stroll, Zhou and Nicholas Latifi.
Austrian GP Qualifying Q1 Results
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc |
 |
8 | 1’05.419 | ||
| two | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
8 | 1’05,660 | 0.241 | 0.241 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen |
 |
6 | 1’05.852 | 0.433 | 0.192 |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
8 | 1’06.016 | 0.597 | 0.164 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
8 | 1’06.079 | 0.660 | 0.063 |
| 6 | Sergio Perez |
 |
9 | 1’06.143 | 0.724 | 0.064 |
| 7 | George Russell |
 |
8 | 1’06.235 | 0.816 | 0.092 |
| 8 | Lando Norris |
 |
11 | 1’06.330 | 0.911 | 0.095 |
| 9 | Kevin Magnussen |
 |
9 | 1’06.366 | 0.947 | 0.036 |
| 10 | Mick Schumacher |
 |
9 | 1’06.405 | 0.986 | 0.039 |
| 11 |  Valtteri Bottas |
 |
8 | 1’06.442 | 1.023 | 0.037 |
| 12 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
11 11 | 1’06.463 | 1.044 | 0.021 |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon |
 |
10 | 1’06.468 | 1.049 | 0.005 |
| 14 |  Alexander Albon |
 |
9 | 1’06.516 | 1.097 | 0.048 |
| 15 | Pierre Gasly |
 |
11 | 1’06.589 | 1,170 | 0.073 |
| 16 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
10 | 1’06.613 | 1.194 | 0.024 |
| 17 |  Lance Stroll |
 |
12 | 1’06.847 | 1.428 | 0.234 |
| 18 |  Guanyu Zhou |
 |
9 | 1’06.901 | 1.482 | 0.054 |
| 19 | Nicholas Latifi |
 |
9 | 1’07.003 | 1.584 | 0.102 |
| 20 | Sebastian Vettel |
 |
12 | 1’07.083 | 1.664 | 0.080 |
| see results | ||||||
This was the Q2 of the Austrian GP classification
As Q2 started, Lando Norris got a scare when he hit the gravel in his McLaren, and Hamilton beat Verstappen, Russell and the Ferraris (with used tires) to take first. As in the first round, there were eliminated laps, for example the second of Sainz.
After the first minutes, Norris did not have any competitive lap and closed the top 15, while Pérez occupied a dangerous eleventh place. Things above were very even, and the first ten places were also expensive. Norris did not get a good turn and stayed in last place, while Pérez saved the furniture. Alonso failed to improve and was ninth, but behind no one beat his mark and qualified for Q2. That’s where Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon, Valtteri Bottas, Yuki Tsunoda and Norris fell.
Austrian GP Qualifying Q2 Results
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc |
 |
10 | 1’05.287 | ||
| 2 | Max Verstappen |
 |
6 | 1’05.374 | 0.087 | 0.087 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
8 | 1’05.475 | 0.188 | 0.101 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
10 | 1,05,576 | 0.289 | 0.101 |
| 5 | George Russell |
|
9 | 1’05.697 | 0.410 | 0.121 |
| 6 | Sergio Perez |
 |
9 | 1’05,805 | 0.518 | 0.108 |
| 7 | Kevin Magnussen |
 |
6 | 1’05.894 | 0.607 | 0.089 |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon |
|
10 | 1’05.993 | 0.706 | 0.099 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso |
|
6 | 1’06.082 | 0.795 | 0.089 |
| 10 | Mick Schumacher |
|
6 | 1’06.151 | 0.864 | 0.069 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly |
 |
9 | 1’06.160 | 0.873 | 0.009 |
| 12 | Alexander Albon |
 |
6 | 1’06.230 | 0.943 | 0.070 |
| 13 | Valtteri Bottas |
 |
6 | 1’06.319 | 1.032 | 0.089 |
| 14 | Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
8 | 1’06.851 | 1.564 | 0.532 |
| 15 | Lando Norris |
 |
8 | 1’25.847 | 20.560 | 18.996 |
| see results | ||||||
