Skip to main content

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe
Live text
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

Views of the track

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.

Live Text

Sort by
Oldest first
Green flag
And we're go for Q2.
Now just 15 cars on track to decide who will transfer to the top 10 shootout for pole. We'll get to do all of this again tomorrow, don't forget, as this is a sprint weekend. So if we can forgive the teams for their lack of preparation today after only one practice session, that won't be valid tomorrow.
Verstappen becomes the first driver to dip under the 75s mark with a 1m04.955s. But it's then deleted for running too wide at Turn 10!
As in Q1, Verstappen just ran a little too wide at the final corner and his right-front wheel went over the white line along with the rest of his car. Norris therefore takes over the top spot ahead of Hulkenberg!
Perez was second fastest to Verstappen on those first runs, but he too was docked his time, likewise Stroll who had been fourth before all the deletions.
Norris, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Sainz, Hamilton therefore is our unusual-looking top five, each representing a different team, with Piastri in sixth ahead of Leclerc and Russell.
A 1m05.308s for Gasly slots him into second as Ocon goes fifth to split Spaniards Alonso and Sainz.
Quote
"This is a joke honestly with these track limits," complains Verstappen over the radio. Can't say he's not trying hard.
Quote
Verstappen now punches in a 1m04.951s to position himself first again, while Sainz improves to second on a 1m05.036s.
Just 0.087s split the top three as Norris goes third. Alonso has a lap disallowed, dumping him back to ninth ahead of Albon.
Both Mercedes vaulted themselves into the top 10 on that last run, muscling Ocon and Stroll out. They're currently facing the drop along with Piastri, Bottas and, yes Perez! The second Red Bull driver is the latest to lose a lap to track limits.
For Alonso, Perez and Russell, the crime was running too wide at Turn 9. "We just need to get that banker in," Perez is told as he crawls slowly around the track before embarking on his final run. His engineer clarifies that he was pinged for opening up the entry of Turn 10 too much.
Verstappen, Sainz, Norris, Leclerc, Hamilton, Gasly, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Albon and Russell are our top 10 as it stands. Who will make it into Q3 after these final runs?
Perez does the job asked of him and lodges a 1m04.990s to go second, edging Albon into the drop zone.
Checkered flag
But as the checkered flag comes out, that's another track limits for Perez. He's out!
This time it's running too wide on the exit of Turn 10 that is Perez's undoing and he will start 15th on Sunday without a valid representative time. Those words about getting a banker in now appear very prophetic.
Perez is joined in the drop zone by Russell (11th), Ocon, Piastri and Bottas.
That means its another Q3 appearance for Alex Albon and Williams, who are on a strong run of form at the moment.
Your 10 drivers to compete for pole are Verstappen, Sainz, Norris, Leclerc, Stroll, Alonso, Hamilton, Gasly, Hulkenberg and Albon. A good effort then from Hulkenberg too, as both he and Albon lost team-mates in Q1.
Well, we wondered aloud whether track limits would become a talking point of the day. Perez being booted out for repeated track limits in Q2 appears to have answered our question.
Green flag
We're green for Q3 and Albon is the first man out.
Stopwatch
Drivers are gunning for their first flying laps of Q3 now, and Verstappen as you'd expect is turning the splits purple. A 1m04.503s puts him fastest.
Leclerc goes second ahead of Sainz, Norris and Alonso.
Gasly and Albon slot in ahead of Stroll and Hulkenberg. Hamilton is yet to set a time and is now on his outlap.
Verstappen's advantage is 0.206s for the time being over Leclerc, who is himself two tenths ahead of Sainz.
Hamilton ends up fifth after his first run. Interestingly, he was fastest in sector one, and Leclerc the benchmark through sector two. But it's sector three pace-setter Verstappen who averaged out best across the lap.
Stroll becomes the first driver to fall foul of track limits in Q3. He's run too wide at Turn 9 and is docked his banker lap.
Now with an empty track, Albon is going again. Can he lift himself up from eighth?
The answer is yes! Albon moves up to sixth, usurping Alonso and Gasly. But only for a split second - he's done the same as Stroll and loses that lap for running too wide at Turn 9.
Time for the final runs then, as everyone bar Albon heads out for their last whirl of the dice (until tomorrow's sprint qualifying that is).
Stopwatch
Verstappen improves again and sets a 1m04.391s. Surely that won't be beaten!
Checkered flag
Verstappen takes pole. But goodness, it was close though! Leclerc is just 0.048s down after a blistering effort.
Leclerc leaps back ahead of Sainz, who takes third, while Norris is fourth ahead of Hamilton. A strong return to form for the McLaren driver who started on the front row in 2021.
Stroll redeems himself after losing the banker time to track limits as he outqualifies Alonso - for only the second time this year - in sixth and seventh positions. Back on a high downforce track, Aston appear to have regressed a little.
Hulkenberg ends up eighth, 11 positions ahead of his team-mate, then Gasly and Albon complete the top 10.
That's a fourth pole in a row for Verstappen, who last missed out on the top spot in Miami at the start of May.

By: Autosport Staff

Published: