Norris maintains upper hand on Piastri in Austrian GP practice
The Briton, who is seeking to erase memories of his nightmare in Montreal where he collided with the championship leading Piastri, clocked a best lap of one minute and 4.324 seconds.
Piastri was 0.118 seconds off the pace.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.
"In these temperatures, the McLarens at high speed are going to be very difficult to match," admitted Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
Wolff again confirmed interest in Verstappen, but added Russell, victorious in Canada two weeks ago, had been "splendid" and "has done a great job this year."
Norris, fastest on Friday, was soon in command with a 1min 5.412sec lap and by the midway mark he had trimmed that to 1min 4.888sec with Hamilton second, three-tenths adrift.
Russell, seen by many as vulnerable at Mercedes if Verstappen arrived, was third ahead of Piastri.
With 20 minutes remaining, Piastri pushed with too much speed into Turn Nine and swept through the gravel, a moment that required a visit to the pits.
Verstappen -- whose 'orange army' of supporters boosted the size of the crowd -- also pitted with his car's floor receiving attention.
He was 11th on the time-screens as Norris improved his best lap to 1:04.324, a five-tenths cut to go seven-tenths clear.
With 10 minutes to go, Piastri found the pace to go second, 0.118 behind Norris before Verstappen went third ousting Leclerc to fourth ahead of Hamilton.
© 2025 AFP
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8 hours ago
- France 24
Leclerc on front row at Austrian GP as Ferrari upgrades bear fruit
The 27-year-old Monegasque driver qualified second, 0.5sec behind a dominant Lando Norris of McLaren, while seven-time champion Hamilton was fourth -- just 0.090 seconds slower than his team-mate in a tight session. Championship leader Oscar Piastri was third in the second McLaren. "I am so very pleased," said Leclerc. "It's been a long time since we started on the front row. I think it was in Monaco. And it has been a difficult season overall, but the team has kept pushing. "We have some new parts this weekend, which for sure made a difference because if you look at the gaps, everybody is super-close. So thanks to the team. "I'm very happy with the lap overall. It's a good start to the weekend. We know that we have a better car normally in the race than qualifying so I hope that we can put more pressure on the McLaren." He went on to congratulate Norris. "He deserves it," said Leclerc. "But tomorrow we will try to bring him a tough time. We have a strong car and we'll do all we can." After his miserable start to the season, Hamilton was upbeat. "It's a fantastic result today," said the Briton. "The team has worked so hard at the factory and we had new parts this weekend so for Charles to be second and me to be on the second row is fantastic. "I could have been second if I had finished my lap, but we have a lot of positives to take from today –- it has been the best day operationally in a qualifying session for things like timings, information from the team, team operations..." Summing up the team's performance, the veteran called it: "The best and world class. "Ultimately, these last few weeks, we have all pulled together and blocked out all the noise. We put our heads down and we are putting the puzzle together bit by bit in the right places. Step by step. "I am happy with the progress we are making. I'm not saying anything about a podium tomorrow… I've wanted it every week. I'm just staying quiet and hoping to do a better job."
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
Norris savours finding 'the old me' in taking pole at Austrian GP
The 25-year-old Briton, who ended Max Verstappen's run of five consecutive poles at the Red Bull Ring circuit owned by his team, delivered a stunning late lap in one minute and 3.971 seconds to outpace Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by half-a-second. Verstappen, frustrated by a yellow flag when Pierre Gasly spun in his Alpine, qualified seventh. "I did what I planned to do and when I plan to do something and it goes right, it normally goes very, very well," said Norris who told the team on radio that it was "nice to see the old me back now and then!" "I am very happy -- a good day and it's been a good weekend for me so far. So, hopefully we can keep it up. "It's a long season. So, I savour this moment, especially because some of my tougher moments have been in qualifying and to put a lap in like today and performance like this weekend, like I have, is pleasing for myself. He added that he had enjoyed a feeling "that I have missed for quite a long time in terms of performance and lap time and it is the best feeling that a driver can ask for". Norris said the team had been working hard to support and guide him and he's "been working hard in the simulator so to get there and to move in the right direction is reassuring for myself and for the rest of the team". Norris had arrived in Spielberg under pressure to atone for his error in Montreal and reboot his challenge for the drivers' championship in which he is 22 points behind leader and team-mate Piastri, who was third in qualifying on Saturday. The 24-year-old Australian was frustrated at being unable to complete a second flying lap in Q3 but determined to improve and challenge at the front. "For me, it's the fact that I didn't get to start (the lap), that was the problem. I had Gasly's spin at the last corner, so I didn't even open my second lap," he said. "Lando has been very quick all weekend, and it would've been a tough challenge, but I think we easily had enough pace in the car this weekend to be on the front row. "It's always a shame when you don't even get the chance, but we can still have a good race from there. Sometimes it's just not your day." However, the Melbourne-native still has his eye on claiming his sixth Grand Prix win of the season on Sunday. "Our pace this weekend has looked very strong. The Ferrari pace looked good as well, which was a bit of a surprise," he said.
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
Norris secures pole at Austrian GP with stunning last lap to end Verstappen dominance
The 25-year-old Briton clocked an outstanding lap in one minute and 3.971 seconds to outpace nearest rival Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by 0.521 seconds, with McLaren team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri third. Norris, who is 22 points behind Piastri in the drivers' title race, erased any hangover from his collision with Piastri in Canada two weeks ago with a thrilling demonstration of his speed and talent. "It was a good lap, that's for sure," said Norris. "I guess that just little bit by little bit, I was able to get more time. Q1 was good, but I knew there were a few places I could get more time and I did what I planned to do." Verstappen had taken pole position at the Red Bull-owned circuit in the Styrian Alps for the last five F1 races before Norris succeeded and seized his first pole in Austria, his third of the season and 12th of his career. Team-mate Piastri was disappointed and frustrated. "I had (Pierre) Gasly spin at the first corner so I didn't even open my second lap. Lando's been very quick all weekend so it would have been a tough challenge, but we had the pace to be on the front row. "We can still have a good race from there and we are not here to come home third." Verstappen's last lap was stymied by a yellow flag waved when Gasly spun in his Alpine, leaving him, like Piastri, unable to clock a flying lap time. He finished seventh. Leclerc said: "I'm very pleased. It's been a long time since we started on the front row and it's been a difficult season overall, but the team has kept pushing. "We brought some new parts this weekend which for sure made a difference. We know we have a better car in the race than in qualifying so I hope we can put more pressure on the McLarens." Leclerc's Ferrari team-mate and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was an encouraging fourth ahead of Mercedes' George Russell, Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls, four-time champion Verstappen of Red Bull and Gabriel Bortoleto of Sauber. Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli was ninth in the second Mercedes and Gasly 10th. 'Worse than before' The session began in hot conditions with temperatures of 32 (air) and 48 (track) indicating hard work for tyres. After a frantic finale, in which Russell recovered from the drop zone to 11th, it was Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon of Haas, Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda, Carlos Sainz in the second Williams and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg who were eliminated. McLaren, led by Norris, set the pace. The entire field was separated by less than a second with the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Tsunoda, sixth and 18th, only 0.25 seconds apart. It was Sainz's third consecutive Q1 exit. The track temperature touched 50 at the start of Q2 with Ferrari leading the way on used softs as Norris established his supremacy again before a trackside grass fire prompted a red flag stoppage, Hamilton having run wide there at turn 10. Verstappen was unhappy with his car's reaction to the heat. "No grip, it's worse than before," he reported. "I don't know what to say!" After six minutes, the action resumed with only four to go as Norris and Piastri set the pace ahead of Leclerc while two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, Williams' Alex Albon, Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar, Franco Colapinto of Alpine and Oliver Bearman of Haas missed out. All this left Bortoleto celebrating his first top ten qualification in fifth for the improving Sauber outfit while Verstappen complained he was impeded by a Ferrari in a way that was "a bit naughty and super unnecessary". As Q3 began, Russell almost hit a Ferrari when he was released into their path narrowly avoiding a collision. On the first runs, Norris was fastest again ahead of Leclerc with Piastri third and Hamilton fourth, the Ferraris enjoying the heat as Mercedes wilted before Norris stormed to pole. © 2025 AFP
