Follow live coverage of qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix from the Red Bull Ring with F1i.

Nico Rosberg was favourite for pole position but will take a five-place grid penalty after qualifying as a result of a final free practice crash. Rosberg hit the wall following a left rear suspension failure and will receive a new gearbox as Mercedes replaces the rear end of the car in an attempt to get it ready for qualifying.

Sebastian Vettel was fastest in FP3 but he too has a gearbox penalty, opening the door for a fight between Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen for pole position. Raikkonen was second fastest in final practice, just ahead of Hamilton who admits he struggles with the Red Bull Ring.

Red Bull appears the third quickest team at present but will expect Williams to make a step forward in qualifying, while Force India should prove more competitive than it has been in practice. McLaren is targeting a place in Q3 after getting both drivers inside the top ten in FP3.

Heavy rain hit FP2 yesterday and more wet weather is forecast for this afternoon, with the biggest question mark over whether it hits before the end of the qualifying session. The current risk of rain is 40%.

You can follow all the action from qualifying when the session gets underway at 1400 local time (1300 BST). We'll be bringing you all the news and information from trackside as it happens on F1i's live page.

LIVE: Austrian Grand Prix - Qualifying

FP3 REPORT: Vettel quickest as Rosberg crashes in final practice

F1i Classic: Penske's emotional Austrian GP win

Silbermann says ... Gin is the only tonic

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Formula 1 stakeholders agree on 2027/2028 power unit changes

Formula 1 has taken another significant step in shaping its future after the FIA, Formula…

5 hours ago

Monaco points fails to lift Alonso: ‘There are zero positives’

Fernando Alonso may have delivered to Aston Martin its first championship point of the 2026…

6 hours ago

Coulthard: Russell must beat Antonelli in Barcelona or 'no world title'

George Russell heads into this weekend’s Barcelona-CatalunyaGrand Prix facing what may be the most important…

7 hours ago

Albon set for Williams record and Mansell tribute in Barcelona

Alex Albon is set to write another defining chapter in his Williams story this weekend…

9 hours ago

When the Schumacher brothers celebrated a historic F1 milestone

The 2001 Canadian Grand Prix, run on this day 25 years ago, was a milestone…

10 hours ago

Red Bull F1 junior Iwasa completes Barcelona FP1 rookie line-up

Friday’s opening practice session at Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix will deliver yet another reshuffle of the…

11 hours ago