Protest from McLaren

LIVE from 4pm: Who will take pole for the Austrian GP?

Max Verstappen

(Bild: AFP or licensors)

Max Verstappen starts from pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday. The world champion relegated Lando Norris and George Russell to the other positions.

However, McLaren lodged a protest against the qualifying result because Oscar Piastri's fastest lap in Q3 was disallowed. The accusation: there was no clear evidence for this.

(Bild: APA/ERWIN SCHERIAU)

Nevertheless, the investigation against pole-setter Verstappen remained without consequences after he was accused of driving too slowly at the pit exit in Q3 on Saturday evening. Nico Hülkenberg was also not penalized, only Mercedes had to pay 5000 euros for the unsafe release of Hamilton.

"As you can see, it's very close and it's the small details that can make or break a weekend these days," said Verstappen after his sprint win. "You really have to be on top form." And he was just three hours later in qualifying.

"It's been a while since we've been on pole, so it's a great feeling. The team has worked really hard to make the car more competitive," praised Verstappen.

McLaren protest
The third-best time, which was actually set by Piastri, was disqualified for crossing the track barrier in turn 6. As a result, the Australian only finished seventh, just ahead of Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull. McLaren subsequently lodged a protest because, according to team boss Andrea Stella, it was not clear from the TV images that the car had been completely off the track. However, after lengthy deliberations, this was declared inadmissible for formal reasons.

Here is the final result:

The first qualifying segment, when the 20 cars were within eight tenths of a second of each other, also showed just how close things can be in Formula 1.

In the second segment, however, Verstappen unleashed a 1:04.469 lap that underscored his extra class. The three-time champion also left nothing to chance in the third segment and was ultimately 0.404 seconds ahead of Norris.

Here is the standings in the drivers' championship:

Track limits violations
Last year, there were penalties for dozens of track limits violations in turns 9 and 10. Temporary gravel beds were therefore installed there, which meant that there have been no offenses there so far this year. "It's embarrassing for me," said Piastri. "I don't know why they spent hundreds of thousands or millions to change the last two corners when you still have corners where you can go off the track." He did not drive off the track, the 23-year-old emphasized.