F1 Austrian Grand Prix – Start time, how to watch, & more
Max Verstappen has taken pole position for the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix. Here's how and when you can watch the race.
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
The Red Bull driver dominated qualifying for the second Austrian race to clinch his fourth pole of the season and third in a row, beating an impressive charge by McLaren’s Lando Norris by just 0.048s.
Norris, who secured his best-ever F1 qualifying result, beat Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and both Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri on outright pace in qualifying but remains cautious about his race pace ahead of the Austrian GP.
With Perez in third, Hamilton could only manage fourth place on the day his new two-year Mercedes F1 contract was announced which keeps him at the team until at least the end of 2023.
But Hamilton is already bracing for a frustrating Austrian GP as he expects polesitter and title rival Verstappen to produce an “easy cruise win”.
With Bottas in fifth, AlphaTauri produced an impressive qualifying display with Pierre Gasly sixth and team-mate Yuki Tsunoda seventh.
Sebastian Vettel has been handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Fernando Alonso in Q2, which sees the Aston Martin driver drop from eighth to 11th place on the starting grid.
Vettel’s penalty promotes George Russell up to eighth place having secured his first Q3 appearance for Williams, with Lance Stroll moving up to ninth for Aston Martin.
Carlos Sainz Jr is also pushed up a spot to 10th and will still have a free choice of tyres having dropped out in Q2. Vettel will split the Ferraris in 11th, with former team-mate Charles Leclerc in 12th place.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
When is the F1 Austrian Grand Prix?
- Date: Sunday 4th July 2021
- Start time: 2:00pm BST, 3:00pm local time
The ninth round of the 2021 F1 season, the Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, gets underway at 3pm local time (2pm BST) on Sunday 4th July.
How can I watch the Austrian GP?
In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports has exclusive live broadcasting rights of F1, with the Austrian GP race shown live on Sky Sports F1. Pre-race coverage will be starting at 12:30pm BST ahead of the race start at 2:00pm BST.
After the race Sky Sports F1’s live coverage continues to follow the post-race reaction from when the chequered flag is waved until 5:00pm BST.
Autosport is running a live text commentary for the Austrian GP.
Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT02, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M
Photo by: Erik Junius
When can I watch the Austrian GP highlights?
In the United Kingdom Channel 4 is broadcasting highlights of the Austrian GP at 6:30pm BST on Sunday. The full programme will run for two-and-a-half hours, covering the pre-race, the race highlights and the initial post-race reaction to wrap up the major talking points of the race weekend.
For the entire 2021 F1 season, Channel 4 will broadcast highlights of every qualifying and race on the Saturday and Sunday of each event. The highlights will also be available on Channel 4’s on demand catch up services.
· Channel: Channel 4
· Start time: 6:30pm BST
Will the Austrian GP be on the radio?
Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2021 F1 season will be available on the BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra stations.
Coverage of the Austrian GP will start at 2:00pm BST on BBC Radio 5 Live, available online, on DAB radio and the BBC Sounds app.
Pole man Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B, arrives in Parc Ferme
Photo by: FIA Pool
Weather forecast for the Austrian GP
Current weather forecasts predict cloudy conditions with a strong chance of showers building up over the afternoon both before and during the race. The temperature is expected to be 22 degrees Celsius for the start of the race – about seven degree cooler than the Styrian GP.
How many laps is the Styrian GP?
The race is scheduled to complete 71 laps of the Red Bull Ring, covering a total race distance of 306.452km.
Austrian GP starting grid
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Max Verstappen |
Red Bull | 1'03.720 | |
| 2 |  Lando Norris |
McLaren | 1'03.768 | 0.048 |
| 3 |  Sergio Perez |
Red Bull | 1'03.990 | 0.270 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes | 1'04.014 | 0.294 |
| 5 |  Valtteri Bottas |
Mercedes | 1'04.049 | 0.329 |
| 6 |  Pierre Gasly |
AlphaTauri | 1'04.107 | 0.387 |
| 7 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
AlphaTauri | 1'04.273 | 0.553 |
| 8 | George Russell |
Williams | 1'04.591 | 0.871 |
| 9 |  Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin | 1'04.618 | 0.898 |
| 10 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |
Ferrari | 1'04.559 | 0.839 |
| 11 |  Sebastian Vettel |
Aston Martin | 1'04.570 | 0.850 |
| 12 |  Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari | 1'04.600 | 0.880 |
| 13 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
McLaren | 1'04.719 | 0.999 |
| 14 | Fernando Alonso |
Alpine | 1'04.856 | 1.136 |
| 15 |  Antonio Giovinazzi |
Alfa Romeo | 1'05.083 | 1.363 |
| 16 | Kimi Raikkonen |
Alfa Romeo | 1'05.009 | 1.289 |
| 17 | Esteban Ocon |
Alpine | 1'05.051 | 1.331 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi |
Williams | 1'05.195 | 1.475 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher |
Haas | 1'05.427 | 1.707 |
| 20 |  Nikita Mazepin |
Haas | 1'05.951 | 2.231 |
| View full results | ||||
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