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Formula 1
Austrian GP
F1 Austrian GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & Qualifying
Friday's action from the ninth round of the 2023 Formula 1 season
F1 begins its ninth round this weekend and its second sprint race of the season at the Austrian GP.
It means Friday will see just one free practice session (12:30pm-1:30pm BST) followed by qualifying at 4pm BST that will set the grid for Sunday’s grand prix.
Saturday is effectively a standalone event, with sprint qualifying and then the sprint race.
Max Verstappen leads the drivers’ standings by 69 points from Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez after his fourth win in a row last time out in Canada.
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We're off for a spot of lunch now, but we'll be back in a few hours ahead of qualifying!
Welcome back to our live text coverage. We're a little under 20 minutes away now from what promises to be a frantic qualifying session on one of the shortest laps of the year. You've come to the right place.
In case you've been under a rock for the last few hours, here's your reminder that we're running to sprint format rules this weekend; for only the second time this year after Baku. That meant just the one practice session earlier on before the grid is set for Sunday's Grand Prix. Tomorrow we'll have another qualifying session to sort out the order for the sprint race.
Earlier on, Max Verstappen left it late to top FP1. Tellingly, he did so on the medium compound tyres, clocking in two tenths quicker than Carlos Sainz's Ferrari with soft rubber.
Verstappen took pole for the 2021 and 2022 Austrian Grands Prix, but he missed out on victory in last year's main event after winning the sprint. He was overhauled on that day by Charles Leclerc, in what remains the Ferrari man's most recent victory. Given he took pole at the last sprint round in Baku, can Leclerc turn on the afterburners today?
The timing screens report a 20% chance of rain. Austria qualifying has been blighted by the weather before. Who remembers the crazy grid for the 1998 race with Fisichella's Benetton joined on the front row by Alesi's Sauber?
The last driver not called Max Verstappen to take pole in Austria is Lewis Hamilton, back in the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix when the Red Bull Ring hosted two events (as it also did in 2021 when both were claimed by the Red Bull man). On that day, also in wet weather, the Mercedes man topped the times by a whopping 1.21s from Verstappen.
Drivers are getting their helmets on with just over five minutes until Q1 gets underway, as we whittle down the field from 20 to 15 drivers that will progress to Q2.
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The track will of course be busy for Q1 as drivers jostle for clear air to post a flyer. But you'd hope they would be slightly better spaced than their F3 counterparts, who got up to some tomfoolery in their session earlier topped by Paul Aron.
Sun
Air temperature for the session is a hearty 27.9 °C, while track temps sit at 42.9 °C. Nothing to be sniffed at.
Green flag
And we're green for Q1. Several drivers waste no time in taking to the track.
Clearly the Red Bulls are very popular here at what is their home track. Naturally, Red Bull merchandise is everywhere. I made the mistake once of asking for a Diet Coke at the Red Bull Ring and received a look that suggested I had asked for directions to Mars.
Stopwatch
It's Kevin Magnussen who logs the first flyer of the session for Haas, a 1m06.006s.
Stopwatch
Due to the short lap here, drivers get lots of chances if they mess up a lap or one gets deleted due to track limits. That also means the track may evolve quickly too. Verstappen now goes top on a 1m05.190s.
Perez is over seven tenths down on Verstappen after their first efforts, with Piastri's McLaren splitting the two Red Bulls in a boon for McLaren. Early days though still.
Red flag
We've got the red flags out as Bottas has spun at Turn 1 and is struggling to get restarted.
Replays show the 2020 Austrian GP winner took a chunk of kerb for the right-hander, perhaps distracted by a slow-moving Red Bull on the road ahead of him, when the back end stepped out and the car swapped ends.
That bit of egg on his face aside, Bottas was yet to complete a lap before the red flag. Hulkenberg, Sainz and Norris are in a similar boat thanks to lap deletions due to track limits infringements.
Bottas's car has now been recovered to the garage. That set of valuable soft tyres will likely have to be junked due to flat spots.
Q1 will resume at 17:12 local time, we're told by the FIA. Not much longer to wait.
Just before the red flags, Verstappen had his best laptime deleted, and now joins Sainz, Norris, Hulkenberg and Bottas among that group without a time.
The session resumes. Verstappen's small misjudgement means Piastri for now heads Perez and Magnussen atop the times.
Gasly, Zhou and Hamilton also appear to have fallen foul of track limits. Could this be one of those days where it becomes a talking point again?
Stopwatch
No sooner had Albon gone fourth quickest than all the leaderboard changed again. Verstappen vaults back to the top on a 1m05.116s, but this time ahead of Sainz on a 1m05.339s.
Leclerc is third, then Norris, Alonso, Hamilton and in seventh Piastri - the man who was briefly fastest during the red.
Gasly has had a lap reinstated, but it still leaves him down in 18th.
As Gasly vaults up to seventh, who is in danger? Down in the bottom five currently are Stroll, Ocon, Sargeant, de Vries and Hulkenberg.
Perez has tumbled back to P13 as Stroll gets himself out of danger at Albon's expense. Will he need to go out again to secure himself a spot in Q2?
Hulkenberg now improves ahead of Albon, but it's only good enough for 16th for the 2009 GP2 champion. Zhou is the man currently on the bubble, Bottas just ahead of him.
Time now for the final runs. Norris has moved up to second, and only Verstappen plus the two Ferraris in third and fourth remain in the garage.
Perez allays some doubts by storming up to second.
Piastri won't face any action for potentially impeding Alonso on the exit of the final corner, stewards have confirmed.
Hulkenberg gets himself out of danger! That pushes Bottas into the drop zone.
Checkered flag
As the checkered flag falls, De Vries and Magnussen will definitely be out in Q1, but who will join them?
By the skin of his teeth, Bottas scrapes though in P15, knocking Tsunoda out by 0.021s. Zhou is also unfortunate in 17th, 0.055s behind his team-mate.
Tsunoda is eliminated along with Zhou, Sargeant, Magnussen and De Vries.
Fastest in that session was Verstappen on a 1m05.116s, 0.061s ahead of Perez with Ferrari drivers Sainz and Leclerc split by Gasly in fourth.
They'll be joined in Q2 by Norris, Alonso, Hamilton, Albon, Piastri, Russell, Stroll, Ocon, Hulkenberg and Bottas.
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Cars are queuing at the end of the pitlane with Q2 due to start imminently.
By: Autosport Staff
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