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."
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France 24
8 hours ago
- France 24
Hamilton salutes Ferrari for 'mega-progress' with updates
"That's mega-progress for us as a team today," said the seven-time champion. "Thanks to all the guys at the factory for the upgrades this weekend which looked only small on paper, but were massive for us in performance. "We're not a minute down on McLaren and that's positive and I am happy with it even if I am still struggling with the balance of the car in the race. "We keep working at it and we made progress this weekend and we found a problem with my brakes and that's positive too. So we are improving and everyone in the team is happier. "And we were much calmer and more methodical too so I am proud of them for that." Leclerc said: "We are working in the right direction and our upgrades helped us to close the gap. But it is still a significant gap to McLaren but we had a positive weekend overall and we maximised our potential." Ferraris success behind the two McLarens of race victor Lando Norris and championship leader Oscar Piastri enabled them to overtake Mercedes in the constructors title race and move up to second. There were smiles too at Sauber and Aston Martin after Gabriel Bortoleto and two-time champion Fernando Alonso respectively finished seventh and eighth. It was Brazilian Bortoleto's first points scoring finish in Formula One and his delight was shared by Alonso who held him off in the closing laps – because the Spaniard is also his manager. Alonso was the first to congratulate him with a hug after the race. © 2025 AFP
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
McLaren bask in Austrian heat as Red Bull wilt
But while it was all smiles in the McLaren garage, Max Verstappen endured a dismal day, with the Red Bull four-time champion crashing out on the first lap, and his teammate Yuki Tsunoda trailing in last. For Norris this was the 25-year-old Briton's first triumph on Red Bull's home tarmac to trim Piastri's lead in the title race to 15 points ahead of his and team's home event at Silverstone. "It was a perfect result for the team -- a one-two is exactly what we want and we did it again," he said. His happiness came also from achieving closure on their collision at the Canadian Grand Prix two weeks earlier when he hit Piastri and retired pointless, admitting he had "made a fool of myself". This time, their thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle was completed without any rancour or tears and was a show of its own following Verstappen's exit after his Red Bull was taken out when teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes locked up and hit him. "We had a great battle, that's for sure,' said Norris. "It was a lot of fun and stress. A nice battle, so well done to Oscar! Hopefully, it was a nice one for everyone to watch. His win enabled the runaway leaders McLaren to move to 417 points and a lead of 207 ahead of Ferrari, for whom Charles Leclerc came home third and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton fourth, their best result this year. Piastri admitted he did his utmost to catch and pass Norris after passing Leclerc on the opening lap from third on the grid. "I probably pushed the limit a bit far, but it was a good race and that's what we were here to do – to race each other and try and fight for wins. That's what we did today. 'Not ideal' "It was close for me, but not quite enough. Thanks to the team. To have the kind of pace we did whilst battling each other, it was very impressive. I can't thank this team enough for the car we've got." Verstappen meanwhile is now 61 points adrift of Piastri in the drivers' title race amid mounting speculation about his future with Red Bull. "It was just unlucky, like yesterday in qualifying," said Verstappen. "But overall we did not have great pace here and we have a lot of learnings, and must find how to do better next weekend. "It is not an ideal result." It was the first time in 32 races that Verstappen had failed to finish in the points. 'We will keep trying to do our best, as always, and my mentality will never change. We have won a lot in the past and sometimes we have these times like this." He accepted Antonelli's apology instantly and with good grace. The 18-year-old Italian, hit with a three-grid penalty at Silverstone, said: "I didn't necessarily brake too late, it's just that when I braked hard behind other cars, I locked the rears. "I feel super sorry to the team and to Max, of course, because obviously he was just a passenger." Lawson was all smiles after achieving the best result of his career in sixth in Red Bull's sister team RB. "It has been a tough time for me, but we have worked hard and it has been rewarded today so I'm very happy," added Lawson, who was dumped by Red Bull after just two races this season.
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
Norris resists Piastri to lead dominant McLaren 1-2 in Austria
In torrid heat at the Red Bull Ring, the 25-year-old Briton came home 2.695 seconds clear of the 24-year-old Australian to trim his lead in the title race by 15 points It was Norris's first win in Austria, his third win this year and the seventh of his career. It was McLaren's first win in Austria since David Coulthard triumphed in 2001. The McLaren pair battled throughout the race to provide thrilling racing for the packed crowd and put behind them their collision in Canada two weeks earlier. Charles Leclerc was third ahead of his Ferrari team-mate seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, their best result of the year, with George Russell finishing fifth for Mercedes. "It was a tough race," said Norris. "Pushing the whole way through… tricky, hot, tiring, but the perfect result for us as a team, a 1-2 again. We had a great battle, that's for sure." For Piastri, it was equally demanding. "Intense!" he said. 'Hard work' "I hope it was good watching because from inside the car it was hard work. Yeah, I tried my absolute best." Liam Lawson came in a career-best sixth for RB on a desultory day for the senior Red Bull team after four-time champion Max Verstappen retired on the opening lap after being hit by Mercedes' teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli. He is now 61 points behind Piastri. Two-time champion Fernando Alonso was seventh ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto and his Sauber team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, the future Audi outfit showing their huge potential, with Esteban Ocon finishing 10th for Haas. After a frantic prelude, during which Carlos Sainz's Williams failed to leave the grid and then caught fire in the pit lane, the race was delayed for 10 minutes – before delivering immediate drama at the second attempt. Norris made a clean start while, behind him, Piastri passed Leclerc on the outside of Turn One before Antonelli locked up and lost control at Turn Three and hit Verstappen's Red Bull. A safety car was deployed as both drivers retired on lap one ending, for the defending champion a run of 31 races in the points. "I got hit," said the Dutchman on team radio. The teenage rookie apologised. "I locked the rear. Sorry about that," he told Mercedes. The race resumed after a two-minute slowdown and Norris was forced immediately to defend as Piastri, looking sharp, attacked as also did Russell on Hamilton for fourth. Both were thwarted by defensive driving. By lap 12, the McLaren duo were four seconds clear and delivering a show of their own. Unhampered by any embarrassing hangovers from their collision in Montreal, they raced side by side and wheel to wheel, but each time the Australian attacked, the Briton hung on. In scorching heat of 32 degrees (air) and 55 (track), it was a perfect advertisement for the historic venue in the Styrian Alps which had secured a 16-year contract extension to 2041 before the race. Norris pitted, taking hards, after surviving another Piastri lunge, at turn four, on lap 20. Piastri then followed suit, emerging fourth until Leclerc pitted. After the leaders out on track also changed tyres Norris led Piastri by 6.5 seconds. Red Bull's misery intensified on lap 30 when Yuki Tsunoda hit Colapinto, sending both to the pits for repairs. The Japanese rejoined 16th and last of the runners with a new front wing before being handed a 10-second penalty. As the field settled Norris led Piastri by 3.2s. Russell began the second round of stops on lap 46, followed by the rest of the leaders, leaving Norris to complete a near-perfect day in the Styrian mountains. © 2025 AFP
