Verstappen 'in league of his own' as he flies to Austria GP pole

Max Verstappen stepped it up a level in the final two rounds of qualifying to go more than four tenths clear of all his rivals and claim an emphatic pole position for Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.

Lando Norris once again had to accept second best in qualifying, while his McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri had his final time deleted for running wide leaving Mercedes' George Russell in third alongside Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.

Their respective team mates Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc overcame dramas to line-up on the row behind. Sergio Perez was only eighth, while it was another poor day for Aston Martin drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

• 2024 Austrian Grand Prix - Qualifying results

Just a few hours after the excitement of a 'spicy' Sprint race in Spielberg, and with the Styrian weather still dry, sunny and very warm, it was time for the drivers to get themselves into Grand Prix qualifying mode.

Q1: Sainz and Piastri quickest, Alonso scrapes through but Stroll eliminated

Heading out early were the two Red Bulls, Max Verstappen setting the first time of 1:06.054s with Sergio Perez a tenth and a half slower. Carlos Sainz was quicker than both to go top, Charles Leclerc quicker still, with the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri slipping between the two Ferraris.

Soon just four hundredths of a second covered the top five, Verstappen having been bundled down to P6. The two Mercedes cars were the last out and had the place to themselves: while Lewis Hamilton slotted in just ahead of Verstappen there was a clear statement of intent from George Russell going top by 0.287s ahead of Leclerc.

By now the rest of the field were back out. Verstappen was soon on top but it didn't last long before Sainz found an extra 0.073s to go P1. Alex Albon jumped into the top ten to show there was still plenty of time left to find, and Piastri confirmed that by going second as he and Norris returned to the fray. Less successful was Hamilton who was suffering from overheating brakes and unable to improve his time, leaving him in the drop zone along with Lance Stroll, Nico Hulkenberg, Logan Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu.

No one outside the top six could feel entirely secure and had to go again. Hamilton's next run on new softs calmly delivered P6 and assured progression to the second round. Kevin Magnussen was even quicker for Haas while RB pair Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo also found more pace to go into the top ten. Fernando Alonso squeaked through on the bubble in 15th but Stroll fell short and joined both Williams (Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant) and Saubers (Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu) heading for an early exit.

Q2: Verstappen half a second ahead of Sainz, but Alonso finishes slowest

After a brief pause, it was back to work for the 15 remaining drivers. Alpine's Esteban Ocon led the way followed by his team mate Pierre Gasly and the two Ferrari drivers. Ocon set the first lap of 1:05.582s which just edged Gasly. Both were ahead of Sainz who complained of 'bouncing' on his lap, but Leclerc was quickest of all by half a tenth.

By now a queue was forming in pit lane as the rest of the cars massed for action. Verstappen shot to the top by almost a second, a phenomenal jump in pace. While Russell, Piastri, Norris, Perez and Hamilton closed the gap they were all still around half a second behind the Red Bull. Sainz regrouped for a better run to go second, but he was still 0.439s behind Verstappen. Leclerc could manage only sixth with his run.

With less than two minutes to go, everyone was back out for one last effort. Verstappen found even more time to set a target of 1:04.469s as Russell and Hamilton pushed on to third and fourth, Russell equalling Sainz' existing P2 time. Hulkenberg also made it into the top ten but was noted by the stewards for pushing into the queue on pit lane. Ocon finished on the bubble but Ricciardo lost out in 11th and was eliminated along with Magnussen, Gasly, Tsunoda and Alonso.

Q3: Verstappen flies to pole, Norris best of the rest as Piastri has key time deleted

Hulkenberg and Ocon are both straight out when the lights at the end of pit lane went green for the final round. The Alpine set the slightly quicker time of the pair. Sainz was next and was seven tenths quicker, but that was still eight tenths slower than Verstappen's 1:04.426s. Norris, Russell, Leclerc and Piastri slotted in behind the Red Bull with Hamilton sixth ahead of Sainz. Perez was a full second slower than Verstappen in eighth.

There was still time for everyone to make one final run, although hopes of anyone matching Verstappen's astonishing jump in form were fading fast. The Red Bull shaved a little more off his time and there were slight improvements for Norris, Piastri and Sainz, but nothing really moved the dial. Russell left it late to go fourth with Hamilton sixth, both getting a one-place bonus when Piastri's lap time was deleted for running wide at turn 6, demoting the McLaren to seventh.

Leclerc ran very wide on his final lap, ruining any chance of improving his time. Perez also underperformed in eighth with Hulkenberg and Ocon ending Q3 slowest of all.

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