F1 Austrian GP live: Qualifying updates and times as Lando Norris eyes key pole position

F1 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX - LATEST UPDATES

• Round 11 of the 2025 F1 season takes place in Austria
• Qualifying started at 3pm (BST)
• Lando Norris quickest in final practice; Piastri 2nd; Verstappen 3rd
• Oscar Piastri has a 22-point lead in the world championship
• COMMENT: Russell and Verstappen F1 swap would be unthinkable – but Mercedes man deserves clarity

Yuki Tsunoda out in Q1!

A nightmare for Tsunoda - he’s down in P17 and is out of qualifying! Sainz also out in 19th!

Tsunoda: “I didn’t have any front grip!”

Bottom-five (16-20) and out in Q1: Stroll, Ocon, Tsunoda, Sainz, Hulkenberg

George Russell has saved himself, as he was in P16 until the end!

Top-3: Norris, Piastri, Lawson

Alex Albon up to P5

Impressive stuff from the Williams.

Most cars have set laps no

Current bottom-five (16-20): Hulkenberg, Ocon, Stroll, Bearman, Alonso

Carlos Sainz will likely need to go quicker in 15th. 4:00 to go in Q2...

Lando Norris lays down a marker

Norris shoots straight up to the top of the timesheet with a 1:04:672, four-tenths quicker than the next in line in Max Verstappen.

3-10: Hamilton, Antonelli, Hadjar, Leclerc, Russell, Tsunoda, Lawson, Hulkenberg

7:00 left in Q1...

Nico Hulkenberg P1

P1 early on? Nico Hulkenberg.

That being said, only around eight cars have set a time so far...

12:00 left in Q1.

Q1 underway!

We’re finally away with Q1 - 18 minutes where we will lose the slowest five drivers from the rest of qualifying.

Williams’ Alex Albon the first driver out on track...

F2 race reason for delay

A long red flag after the F2 sprint race due to this incident means we start qualifying a smidge later.

Qualifying delayed

A hot 48C track temperature out on the Red Bull Ring.

Quick FIA update: Qualifying will start at 3:05pm (BST).

Unsure why the delay...

Qualifying!

We’re just under 10 minutes away from qualifying at the Red Bull Ring!

It’s a big one! Lando Norris is the favourite, having been quickest all weekend in practice, but can he put it all together at the end of Q3?

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen has recorded five pole positions in a row - can he cause a shock to the delight of his supporters in the grandstands?

We’ll soon find out!

(Getty Images)

Driver standings heading into this weekend:

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 198 points

2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 176 points

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 155 points

4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 136 points

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 104 points

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 79 points

7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 63 points

8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 42 points

9. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 22 points

10. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 21 points

11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) - 20 points

12. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 14 points

13. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 13 points

14. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 11 points

15. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 10 points

16. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 8 points

17. Ollie Bearman (Haas) – 6 points

18. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 4 points

19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) – 0 points

20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0 points

21. Jack Doohan (Alpine) – 0 points

List of team upgrades in Austria:

McLaren - new front and rear suspension aerodynamics and rear geometry;

Ferrari - entire new floor;

Red Bull - floor edge;

Mercedes - circuit specific brake and engine cover cooling;

Racing Bulls - front and rear wings;

Sauber - floor and rear wing.

Lando Norris optimistic ahead of qualifying:

Norris said on Friday: "We have shown a bit more pace than some of the others but I certainly think they are going to catch up. Max is not far behind and [Red Bull] normally improve a lot into Saturday.

"I expect a good day tomorrow, and I'm sure we'll improve on some things, but it's not as easy as maybe it looked today.

“It's still going to be tight tomorrow. It always is."

(Getty Images)

Toto Wolff on Max Verstappen signing for Mercedes:

“I give it very little probability that it will happen.”

F1 constructor standings after 10 races:

1. McLaren - 374 points

2. Mercedes - 199 points

2. Ferrari - 183 points

4. Red Bull - 162 points

5. Williams - 55 points

6. Haas - 28 points

7. Racing Bulls - 28 points

8. Aston Martin - 22 points

9. Sauber - 20 points

10. Alpine - 11 points

Austrian GP preview: George Russell and Max Verstappen F1 swap would be unthinkable – but Mercedes man deserves clarity

As the Formula One enterprise returns to real racing this weekend in Austria – away from the sprinkle and stardust of movie premieres in New York and London – one of the season’s standout drivers so far is in an unusual predicament. A scenario, you might say, worthy of a drama. No doubt Box to Box, the producers of Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive, are rubbing their hands together.

George Russell, at this present stage, can do little more. The 27-year-old, in his fourth season at Mercedes and first without Lewis Hamilton by his side, has taken to the role of “team leader” with poise and serenity. As the Brit acknowledged to The Independent last month, he’s been “getting better and better”.

Full piece below:

Lewis Hamilton on Ferrari upgrades:

"A huge amount of work went on to bring the floor but as you can see, it's not necessarily changed our competitiveness.," said Hamilton.

"The car actually doesn't feel bad, it's just we're a huge chunk off pace-wise. We need to look into that."

“We won't be at the front."

Lando Norris on backlash from Oscar Piastri crash: ‘Not the most joyful conversations’

Addressing the post-Montreal summit in Spielberg, the British driver said: “Of course, they were not the most joyful conversations, but they were conversations that clearly needed to be had because it is not about just me, but it is about how we perform as a team, too, and we all know what the number one rule (not crashing into a team-mate) was, and continues to be.

“So, there were very constructive things that were said, in an unfortunate way but in a good way, too, because many things have come out stronger which you might not have expected.”

(AP)

Toto Wolff on a potential Russell-Verstappen line-up

“I can imagine every lineup,” he said.

“I had Rosberg and Hamilton fighting for a World Championship, so everything else afterwards is easy.

“There are pros and cons of having two drivers fighting each other hard and we’ve seen examples where that functions and other examples where it didn’t.”

(Getty)

Verstappen teams up with different race engineer in Austria

This weekend, Simon Rennie will take over Lambiase’s duties and act as Verstappen’s race engineer, meaning he will also be heard over the team radio.

Lambiase misses this weekend due to personal reasons.

(Getty Images)

Start times this weekend:

All times BST

Saturday 28 June

• Qualifying: 3pm

Sunday 29 June

• Race: 2pm

Lando Norris quickest in FP3!

Lando Norris is on top once more, with a 1:04:324, one-tenth clear of teammate Oscar Piastri.

Verstappen is third, with Leclerc in fourth and Hamilton in fifth.

Verstappen also has a spin at the final corner! “A little 360!” he says.

6-10: Russell, Antonelli, Stroll, Tsunoda, Bortoleto

Max Verstappen goes P3!

It’s quick from Verstappen... but not quick enough to usurp the McLarens.

He goes third, 0.210 secs off Norris in first.

Five mins to go.

Oscar Piastri up to P2

Norris has had the upper hand so far this weekend and that continues in FP3, with Piastri a tenth down on his teammate in P1.

3-10: Russell, Antonelli, Stroll, Tsunoda, Leclerc, Bortoleto, Lawson, Hamilton

Verstappen, down in P16, is coming out though on a new set of soft tyres!

10 minutes left in FP3...

Isack Hadjar spins at the final corner

The RB driver avoids the barrier as he has a moment at the final turn, clipping the gravel and spinning back onto the track!

“Well... sorry.”

Hadjar currently P19...

George Russell goes P2!

Russell looked set for top spot but comes home in second, 0.130 seconds off Lando Norris up top.

Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri has hada brush with the gravel and his car is back in the garage.

3-10: Antonelli, Leclerc, Hamilton, Piastri, Albon, Tsunoda, Verstappen, Bortoleto

20 mins left in FP3!

Lando Norris quickest so far!

Twenty minutes in to FP3... Norris is in top spot, four-tenths clear of Lewis Hamilton in second.

3-10: Tsunoda, Verstapen, Hulkenberg, Piastri, Bearman, Gasly, Stroll, Sainz

FP3 underway!

Here we go with third practice at the Red Bull Ring.

Big final hour for all 20 drivers to dial in ahead of qualifying later

FP3 coming up!

We’re just five minutes away from the third and final practice session in Austria!

McLaren and Mercedes led the way yesterday - could we have a third team at the top come the end of this one-hour session?

(Getty Images)

Tight moment between Norris and Verstappen again in Austria!

Irish teen Alex Dunne after finishing P4 in FP1 for McLaren yesterday:

"I want to say a massive thank you, you made a little boy's dream come true. This is definitely the best day of my life," Dunne said over the radio as he made his way back to the garage at the end of the session.

"Thank you everyone for letting me do this and thanks to Lando as well for trusting me with his car. It means a lot."

(Getty Images)

F1 constructor standings after 10 races:

1. McLaren - 374 points

2. Mercedes - 199 points

2. Ferrari - 183 points

4. Red Bull - 162 points

5. Williams - 55 points

6. Haas - 28 points

7. Racing Bulls - 28 points

8. Aston Martin - 22 points

9. Sauber - 20 points

10. Alpine - 11 points

Lewis Hamilton reacts to ‘significant’ social media abuse F1 drivers face

“The times have changed,” Hamilton, who co-produced the new F1 Movie, said. “I would say the racing space has probably got a lot busier with the fame of the sport, so it’s probably more intense.

“The media is more reactive, maybe. You’ve got social media presence and online abuse that we didn’t have when I got into the sport.

“It’s been pretty amazing to see how mature the young drivers that have come in – young men that have come in – have adapted and how they’ve carried that weight, because it’s no easy situation to be thrown into.”

Lewis Hamilton finished 10th in his Ferrari in second practice (Denes Erdos/AP) (AP)

Austrian GP preview: George Russell and Max Verstappen F1 swap would be unthinkable – but Mercedes man deserves clarity

As the Formula One enterprise returns to real racing this weekend in Austria – away from the sprinkle and stardust of movie premieres in New York and London – one of the season’s standout drivers so far is in an unusual predicament. A scenario, you might say, worthy of a drama. No doubt Box to Box, the producers of Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive, are rubbing their hands together.

George Russell, at this present stage, can do little more. The 27-year-old, in his fourth season at Mercedes and first without Lewis Hamilton by his side, has taken to the role of “team leader” with poise and serenity. As the Brit acknowledged to The Independent last month, he’s been “getting better and better”.

Full piece below:

Driver standings heading into this weekend:

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 198 points

2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 176 points

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 155 points

4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 136 points

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 104 points

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 79 points

7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 63 points

8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 42 points

9. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 22 points

10. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 21 points

11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) - 20 points

12. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 14 points

13. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 13 points

14. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 11 points

15. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 10 points

16. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 8 points

17. Ollie Bearman (Haas) – 6 points

18. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 4 points

19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) – 0 points

20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0 points

21. Jack Doohan (Alpine) – 0 points

What are the start times this weekend in Austria?

All times BST

Saturday 28 June

• Qualifying: 3pm

Sunday 29 June

• Race: 2pm

F1 Austrian GP!

Oscar Piastri extended his lead in the world championship last time out in Canada despite a fourth-place finish, with his teammate Lando Norris retiring late on after a collision between the two McLaren drivers. The gap at the top of the standings is 22 points.

George Russell claimed Mercedes’s first victory of 2025 in Montreal, beating arch rival Max Verstappen to first place while Kimi Antonelli picked up his first podium in F1.

It was another troubling weekend for Ferrari, however, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton off the pace. The Scuderia will be eyeing an improvement as F1 returns to Europe this weekend.

(Getty)