Lando Norris claims brilliant pole to show ‘the old Lando’ is back

Lando Norris put in a sensational performance to take pole position for Austrian Grand Prix - Getty Images/Mark Sutton

Lando Norris described it as his “best lap of the season”. It was certainly his most important one.  And that includes his pole lap in Monaco. After Norris’ misery in Montreal last time out, when he crashed into the back of McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri, the pressure was really beginning to ramp up on the Briton. One stonking lap in Spielberg – fully half a second quicker than the next best driver in the field, which was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc – reminded everyone, not least himself, of what Norris can do when he feels comfortable in the car.

As he quipped to his team over the radio after crossing the line: “Nice to see the old me back every now and then.”

Norris still needs to convert this pole of course. That is far from a given at a race where McLaren have not tasted success since David Coulthard’s victory way back in 2001. And you only need to cast your mind back 12 months to remember how quickly things can go awry. Norris, vying for the lead of that race with Max Verstappen, came off worse after tangling with the Red Bull and had to retire from the race. 

But there are reasons for Norris fans to be optimistic, too. For a start, the 25-year-old does not have Verstappen anywhere near him this time around. The Dutch driver starts way down in seventh after an unexpectedly poor qualifying performance from Red Bull, in which the RB21’s competitiveness nosedived relative to its form in practice. 

Verstappen was denied a final push lap in Q3 after Pierre Gasly spun at Turn 10, bringing out yellow flags. But he had already been complaining bitterly to his stand-in race engineer Simon Rennie – Gianpiero Lambiase is missing this race for personal reasons – about the feedback he was getting from his machine.

“The car is completely undriveable,” the four-time world champion reported at one point in Q2. “I have no grip. It’s even worse than before.” Verstappen’s team mate Yuki Tusonoda did not even make it to Q2, exiting in the first part of qualifying. Tsunoda with start 18th. 

Norris may also be thankful that he has a Ferrari sandwiched between himself and Piastri in P3. The championship leader, like Verstappen, had to abandon his final run due to Gasly’s spin. But he admitted he would have found it tough to overhaul Norris.

“Lando has been very quick all weekend and it would have been a tough challenge [to beat him to pole], but I think we easily had enough pace in the car this weekend to be on the front row,” the Australian reflected. “So, always a shame when you do not even get the chance. But we can still have a good race from there. 

“Our pace this weekend has looked very strong. The Ferrari pace looked good as well, which was a bit of a surprise, but we still have some opportunities tomorrow. I am not planning on finishing third, that is for sure.”

It should be a fascinating start to the race, with the second Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton fourth on the grid, and Mercedes’ George Russell – whose comments on Thursday regarding his contract situation triggered a new avalanche of speculation regarding his future – fifth. What price another collision between Russell and Verstappen, with whom Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has admitted on Friday to having “conversations”?

At this stage, no one is quite sure what is going on there. Russell is fed up of waiting for a new deal. Red Bull team principal Chrsitian Horner is fed up of speculation regarding his driver. Verstappen looks fed up generally. “It is a lot of noise and Max gets quite annoyed by it,” was Horner’s assessment on Saturday. “We are very clear about the contract we have with Max which runs until 2028.”

Norris will not worry about any of that. He has the chance to get his season back on track and, ahead of his home race, eat into Piastri’s 22 point lead in the drivers’ championship.

A slight tweak to his front wing for this race appears to be paying dividends. “It was easily my best qualifying of the year from a delivery point of view from every single lap I did,” he admitted. “I think on deliveries, consistency and of course putting it in when it counts in Q3, it was easily the best lap I’ve done for this whole season. Probably even better than Monaco, honestly. Maybe not as exciting a lap as Monaco, but definitely a better put-together lap than I did there.” 

Norris went on to win that race of course. If he can do the same in Red Bull’s backyard on Sunday, and the “old Lando” becomes the new winning Lando, we will have some championship on our hands come Silverstone next week.

04:41 PM BST

Pole for Norris

Dominant performance from Lando Norris in qualifying - Mark Sutton/Getty Images

04:39 PM BST

Starting grid for tomorrow

04:39 PM BST

Bad and unlucky timing

Piastri was on the scene quickly after Gasly’s spin at the final corner. He was just about to start his final flying lap moments after Gasly had his spin so he was never able to get the lap going as he had to adhere to the yellow flags.

04:36 PM BST

Max Verstappen, who will start seventh tomorrow, speaking to Sky Sports

04:33 PM BST

Your top three for tomorrow

Lando Norris starts on pole tomorrow ahead of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri - Jakub Porzycki/Reuters

04:31 PM BST

Bottom ten

11. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

12. Alex Albon (Williams)

13. Isack Hadjar (RB)

14. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

15. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

16. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

17. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

18. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

19. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

20. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

04:30 PM BST

Top ten in qualifying

1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
5. George Russell (Mercedes)
6. Liam Lawson (RB)
7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
8. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
9. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

04:29 PM BST

Good performances from Lawson and Bortoleto

04:27 PM BST

Quotes from Oscar Piastri, who starts third tomorrow

“It was the fact I did not get to start it [his final lap], that was the problem I had. [Pierre] Gasly spun at the last corner so I did not even open my second lap.

“Lando has been very quick all weekend and it would have been a tough challenge, but I think we easily had enough pace in the car this weekend to be on the front row. So always a shame when you do not even get the chance but we can still have a good race from there. It is sometimes just not your day.

“Our pace this weekend has looked very strong. The Ferrari pace looked good as well, which was a bit of a surprise, but we still have some opportunities tomorrow. I am not planning on finishing third, that is for sure.”

04:24 PM BST

The thoughts of Charles Leclerc, who will start second tomorrow

04:23 PM BST

Lando Norris speaking after qualifying on pole

04:19 PM BST

Top five

1. Lando Norris (McLaren) 1:03.971
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:04.492
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1:04.554
4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 1:04.582
5. George Russell (Mercedes) 1:04.763

04:14 PM BST

Norris on pole position

He has been flying all weekend and takes pole in Austria. He goes purple, purple, purple and claims pole position by more than half a second ahead of Leclerc. Piastri was not able to set another flying lap and has to settle for third. That was not only a stunning final lap from Norris but a stunning session. He really dominated that from start to finish. He has ended up more than half a second clear around a track that is just over a minute long. After a tough weekend in Canada a few weeks ago, this is the first part of the way to bounce back.

04:13 PM BST

Yellow flags

Verstappen is finding some time but he has backed out of his lap. A yellow flag had been waving temporarily, which may have affected Piastri as well as he started his lap. Gasly spun at the final corner, which has impacted a few drivers, especially Piastri who is not able to even start his final flying lap. No pole for the championship leader today.

04:11 PM BST

Heading back out

As is always the case, it is all quiet before the mass stampede begins to head out onto the track. Verstappen, now onto a new set of softs, is one of the first men out in an attempt to improve on sixth where he currently sits, whilst Antonelli, down in seventh, will be the last man across the line. Piastri will finish his flying lap after Norris.

04:09 PM BST

Unsafe release

Russell has been noted for that unsafe release and Mercedes may be receiving a fine. He came close to hitting both Verstappen and Leclerc

That is a good lap from Leclerc to split the McLarens. Piastri will back himself to improve but he is nearly three tenths down on Norris, who now has that banker lap.

04:08 PM BST

Norris in fine form

Piastri begins his first flying lap and it is not his best exit out of turn one, which could impact his run all the way up to turn two. Behind him Norris has gone quickest in the first sector.

Piastri then sets the fastest second sector but Norris, who is flying, takes that away from him. Piastri goes quickest but it does not last long as Norris goes more than two tenths clear of his teammate. Norris has looked in fine, fine form.

Verstappen can only go fourth on a used set of softs before Leclerc splits the McLarens. Hamilton then goes fourth and Russell then makes his way into fifth, bumping Verstappen down to sixth after the first runs.

04:04 PM BST

Heading out

With around 10 minutes left, the big hitters start to head out and we nearly have a crash in the pit lane as Russell is let out dangerously, nearly hitting the Ferrari of Leclerc. I suspect a fine is heading Mercedes’ way.

04:01 PM BST

Start of Q3

The green light is showing and we are ready for the final part of qualifying and the pole shootout. All quiet for now. Can anyone stop the McLarens?

Norris has been dominant all weekend but now for the moment of truth. Can he keep it clean in Q3? Regarding the fire earlier, the FIA says “additional dampening of the grass will take place during the break between Q2 and Q3”. It is 28C out here, with track temp up at 47.4C.

03:58 PM BST

Top five in Q2

1. Norris 1:04.410
2. Piastri +0.146
3. Leclerc +0.322
4. Verstappen +0.424
5. Bortoleto +0.434

It is the first time Bortoleto has made Q3 in his F1 career.

03:56 PM BST

Five out in Q2

11. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

12. Alex Albon (Williams)

13. Isack Hadjar (RB)

14. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

15. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

03:54 PM BST

Antonelli just in

The young Italian is right on the bubble but sneaks into Q3 in 10th. Huge disappointment for the RB of Hadjar, who looked in good form but is out in Q2.

03:53 PM BST

Russell safe

The Mercedes man is fine, going fifth fastest. Bortoleto’s lap is fantastic, putting him in fifth in the Sauber.

03:52 PM BST

Mercedes under pressure

Once more the Mercedes duo are flirting with danger and will be two of the last few drivers to cross the line. Antonelli starts his final lap in 11th, with Russell in 12th.

Bortoleto has done a great lap and has probably booked his place in Q3. Verstappen is into third.

03:51 PM BST

Current bottom five with two minutes left

11. Albon

12. Bearman

13. Alonso

14. Bortoleto

15. Colapinto

03:50 PM BST

Busy, busy, busy

Like London buses, you wait ages for one and then lots come at once. They were all waiting for each other to go and then the moment the first went everyone reacted. We have our usual comical scenes as the drivers queue up in the pit lane, giving themselves space to the car in front as they head out.

03:47 PM BST

Green light

We are back under way after the red flag but no-one yet feels like heading out. You would assume everyone will go out for one last run and it leads to a big question; head out early and not risk being affected by a yellow flag or take a small risk and head out late to take advantage of track evolution.

03:44 PM BST

Restart time

We have word from the FIA and the session will resume at 3.47pm BST.

03:44 PM BST

Top five

1. Norris 1:04.410
2. Piastri +0.146
3. Leclerc +0.468
4. Hamilton +0.486
5. Verstappen +0.693

03:41 PM BST

Red flag

The session is stopped as there is a trackside fire down the main straight. With the very high temperatures in Austria, some grass has caught fire. We have had a number of incidents like this over the last 12 months, especially at tracks like China and Japan.

The clock stops with five minutes and 42 seconds remaining.

03:39 PM BST

McLarens in fine form

Verstappen goes one and a half tenths faster than Lawson but the McLarens behind are flying. Piastri crosses the line and goes more than half a second faster than Verstappen. Norris then completes his flying lap and is nearly one and a half tenths clear of Piastri. The McLarens are in a league of their own right now.

Verstappen comes over the team radio to tell his team that his car is undriveable.

Can anyone stop the McLarens? - Joe Portlock/Getty Images

03:37 PM BST

Lawson quickest, for now

The RB’s are looking decent and Lawson goes faster than Leclerc. Verstappen, Piastri and Norris yet to set a time in Q2 but are all on flying laps right now.

03:34 PM BST

Battle of the Ferraris

Which one of the two will set the fastest first lap in Q2? The answer is Leclerc, who is just over two tenths quicker than Hamilton. Both Ferraris are on used softs, which partly explains why they were so far off the time Norris set in Q1. Albon was a further four tenths down on Hamilton.

03:30 PM BST

Start of Q2

The green light is showing at the end of the pits and it is the Ferrari duo who are keen to get out. The Williams of Albon has also gone out but everyone else remains in the garage for now.

03:29 PM BST

Sainz’s reaction to being dumped out

03:25 PM BST

Five drivers out in Q1

16. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

17. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

18. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

19. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

20. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

03:24 PM BST

Tsunoda dumped out

Tsunoda’s miserable spell in the Red Bull continues as he is out in Q1. He complains over the team radio about having no front grip. Is it fair to ask whether he will still be in the Red Bull at the end of the season? I think so. He is a man under huge pressure.

Russell starts his lap in 15th, knowing he needs an improvement. He could be at risk here as he has been bumped down to 16th as he approaches the end of his lap. He does save himself though as he goes into 11th, just ahead of Leclerc.

The Williams of Sainz is out, ten places and half a second off his teammate Albon.

03:22 PM BST

Busy track

Everyone is out on the track so traffic could be an issue. The likes of Tsunoda, Leclerc and Russell are slipping closer to the danger zone and need an improvement you would think.

03:20 PM BST

Track improving

Moments after Bortoleto went fifth, Albon then puts himself into fifth. For the likes of Norris, Piastri and Verstappen they will not be panicking but Leclerc and Russell know they need to head back out and improve as the track is going to ramp up. Albon has though reported some potential damage to his floor, asking his team to check when he returns to the garage. Three minutes left.

03:17 PM BST

Bottom five with five to go

16. Stroll

17. Albon

18. Bearman

19. Alonso

20. Sainz

Bortoleto has just gone from 16th up into fifth, which shows the track evolution.

03:16 PM BST

Top five

1. Norris 1:04.672
2. Piastri +0.332
3. Verstappen +0.434
4. Hamilton +0.443
5. Antonelli +0.611

Lando Norris looking in good touch - Jakub Porzycki/Reuters

03:15 PM BST

Piastri goes again

The championship leader had to abandon his first effort but is going again, with all the other heavy hitters heading into the garage. The Australian comes across the line just over three tenths down on his teammate but is up into second. Verstappen is third, with Hamilton fourth and Antonelli fifth.

03:13 PM BST

Norris looking strong

Verstappen got a sneaky slipstream from Antonelli on the run up towards turn three, which results in a purple first sector. He goes quickest but where will the McLarens be? Norris goes purple, purple in the second and third sectors and is much faster than Verstappen, by more than four tenths. Piastri goes wide on the exit of turn four and dips his tyres into the gravel so abandons that first effort.

Can Lando Norris secure pole today? - Gintare Karpaviciute/Reuters

03:10 PM BST

Patience

Whilst those who are at risk of missing out on Q2 are setting laps, the likes of McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari stay in the garage until now as Verstappen goes out followed by the McLaren duo, which triggers a domino effect of all the heavy hitters.

The McLarens head out - Darko Bandic/Reuters

03:05 PM BST

Go, go, go!

The green light is showing at the end of the pit lane and we are ready for action in Q1. It is not exactly a stampede to go out, with no-one at the lights as it goes green. The Williams of Albon is first out followed by the Aston Martin duo.

All the big hitters remain in the garage for now.

03:03 PM BST

Crowd get going

Plenty of Max Verstappen fans in attendance in Spielberg with the Orange Army out in force this weekend at what is Red Bull’s home weekend around the Red Bull Ring. There are Verstappen Grandstands that are packed with the Orange Army. With qualifying just moments away, the crowd are making their voices heard.

02:58 PM BST

Delay

Qualifying will begin five minutes later than scheduled so we will get going at 3.05pm BST. That may well be down to the overunning of the F2 Sprint race.

02:53 PM BST

Nearly ready for action

We are just over five minutes away from the start of qualifying. Who will be taking pole today? Lando Norris? Oscar Piastri? Max Verstappen? George Russell? Piastri has the most poles so far this season on five, with Verstappen and Norris on two. Remember you can have your say in the comments section at the bottom of the blog.

02:51 PM BST

Traffic

With this track in Spielberg being so short, traffic could cause some issues more so in Q1 than the other two qualifying sessions when there are fewer cars. In theory if every car was out on track and evenly separated there would be just over three seconds between the cars. So the drivers will have to be on alert especially when they are on out laps and those on faster laps are flying past at much higher speeds.

02:49 PM BST

Sky Sports’ Karun Chandhok on Lando Norris

“A lot of his problems have been coming from errors which Lando has put his hands up and admitted. He has very honest about it. He has looked quick today and this is important for him to carry it on, not just in Q1 and Q2 but to the last part of qualifying, Q3.

“Up until now, Lando has been ahead of Oscar [Piastri] 17-7 in the first two parts of qualifying this season, but then it gets reversed 8-4 in the final part of qualifying. He has got to put it together because it is too hard to come through when he is out of position.”

02:43 PM BST

Last five Austrian GP polesitters

2024 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

2023 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

2022 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

2021 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

2020 – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)

02:37 PM BST

Toto on Max with Sky

02:33 PM BST

Hill interview: I said to Mum ‘I think it’s Daddy’ and she started screaming

For Damon Hill, next week’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone promises to bring back special memories.

It is 31 years since the silver-goateed former racer won his home Grand Prix, an achievement even his father, legendary two-time world champion Graham Hill, never managed. But it was what happened after that race that Hill is going to try to recreate next week.

“1994 was the first year EJ [Eddie Jordan] got us all up on to his flatbed truck to play rock’n’roll in the paddock,” Hill recalls, smiling. “He came over with his brother-in-law, or his cousin, Des Large – there was a whole gang of them from Ireland.”

02:27 PM BST

Incident in the F2 Sprint

02:22 PM BST

Top five in the constructors’ standings

1. McLaren- 374 points
2. Mercedes- 199 points
3. Ferrari- 183 points
4. Red Bull- 162 points
5. Williams- 55 points

02:17 PM BST

Top five in the drivers’ standings

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

02:12 PM BST

Wolff admits Mercedes in talks to sign Max Verstappen

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, has reignited talk of Max Verstappen potentially joining his team by admitting that he is having “conversations” with Red Bull’s four-time world champion with regard to a future drive.

Wolff’s comments came after his driver, George Russell, strongly suggested that Mercedes’ pursuit of Verstappen was delaying his own contract talks.

Russell has repeatedly said that he is not concerned about signing an extension to his deal, which expires at the end of this season, given his current performance levels. The Briton, 27, is fourth in the drivers’ championship, 19 points behind Verstappen in third. But by common consent Russell has extracted everything he possibly could out of his car.

02:06 PM BST

Top ten in final practice earlier

1. Lando Norris (McLaren) 1:04.324
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.118
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.210
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.250
5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.466
6. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.694
7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.729
8. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +0.738
9. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) +0.815
10. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) +0.858

02:01 PM BST

Who will take pole in Austria?

We are in the picturesque Styrian Hills of Austria and are all set for qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. It has been two weeks since the last race in Canada, won by Mercedes’ George Russell, which saw the two McLarens collide, with Lando Norris crashing out and current drivers’ championship leader Oscar Piastri finishing fourth. That result means Piastri heads into this weekend 22 points clear of Norris. McLaren, who lead by 175 points in the constructors’ standings, have brought an upgraded front suspension to their car this weekend.

Friday was a special day for Irishman Alex Dunne, who took part in first practice in Norris’ McLaren and impressed finishing fourth, under a tenth off Piastri in the other McLaren. Dunne is currently leading the F2 Championship and did test McLaren’s 2023 car in Texas last week in preparation for this run-out. Speaking after second practice yesterday, Norris, who topped the timesheets in both second and third practice, was full of praise for Dunne.

“The car felt good from the off. Alex gave good feedback this morning [yesterday] after FP1 and he was on the pace straight away, so it was good to see. I think they moved the car in the right direction for FP2, and we just need to understand whether we want more of that [on Saturday], or a little bit less, or somewhere in the middle. So good steps in the right direction, but still a little bit more to come hopefully. We have shown a bit more pace than some of the others. I certainly think they are going to catch up. Max is not far behind and they usually improve a lot into Saturday.”

Lando Norris has looked strong so far this weekend at a track he has a good record - Leonhard Foeger/Reuters

After topping second practice yesterday, Norris was also fastest in third practice earlier. Piastri was second, with Max Verstappen in third and Charles Leclerc fourth. McLaren are not the only team to bring upgrades to their car for this weekend; Red Bull have a new floor edge whilst Ferrari have a completely redesigned floor. Friday was a tough day for Lewis Hamilton, who had gearbox issues in practice one before impeding Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli in second practice. The seven-time world champion did escape serious punishment, receiving just a warning for “unnecessary impeding”.

Where will Max Verstappen be driving next season? - Leonhard Foeger/Reuters

A lot of the talk going into the weekend surrounds the futures of Verstappen and George Russell. Verstappen has been linked with a move to Mercedes, with their boss Toto Wolff confirming conversations are being had. The Dutchman is under contract at Red Bull until 2028 but it is believed to have break clauses which Verstappen could use. Verstappen and Russell have come to blows on a number of occasions on and off the track, including as recently as the Spanish Grand Prix where the two collided on track, but Wolff has said he would be happy to pair the two drivers together.

Qualifying gets going at 3pm BST.

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