F1 Styrian GP qualifying - Start time, how to watch & more
Max Verstappen topped the Friday practice times from Daniel Ricciardo at the Formula 1 Styrian Grand Prix. Here’s how and when to watch qualifying.
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
Fresh from victory at the French GP, Red Bull’s Verstappen topped both free practice sessions on the opening day at the Red Bull Ring, setting the fastest time in FP2 of 1m05.412s to lead former team-mate Ricciardo.
Lewis Hamilton would have taken top spot for Mercedes but his 1m05.335s lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits. As a result of losing his best time in FP2, the reigning F1 world champion was shuffled down to fourth place in the times and behind Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
Valtteri Bottas, who ended FP2 down in 12th place, had an unusual incident during the session when he spun in the pitlane while pulling out of the Mercedes pitbox.
The Finn managed to avoid any serious problems, narrowly missing the McLaren mechanics standing nearby and the pitwall, but he was summoned to see the FIA stewards after the session and subsequently given a three-place grid penalty for the Styrian GP for the pitlane spin.
Fernando Alonso ensured it was a positive start to the Styrian GP overall for Alpine with fifth place in FP2 ahead of Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
With Lance Stroll finishing the second practice session in eighth place for Aston Martin, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi completed the top 10.
Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo Racing C41
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
What time does qualifying for the Styrian Grand Prix start?
Qualifying for the Styrian GP starts at 3pm local time (2pm BST), using the regular Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout session format.
Date: Saturday 26th June 2021
Start time: 3pm local time - 2pm BST
How can I watch qualifying?
In the United Kingdom, every F1 practice, qualifying and race is broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with Styrian GP qualifying coverage starting at 1pm BST.
Autosport will be running a live text coverage of qualifying here.
When can I watch the highlights?
In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 is broadcasting highlights of qualifying for the Styrian GP at 6:30pm BST on Saturday. The full programme will run for 90 minutes, covering both qualifying and wrapping up the major talking points of the race weekend so far.
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 it 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, BBC 5 Live Sports Extra or via the BBC Sport website.
Coverage of Styrian GP qualifying will start at 2:00pm BST on the BBC Sport website.
What's the weather forecast for qualifying in Spielberg?
Sunny and cloudy conditions are forecast for Saturday afternoon at the Red Bull Ring, but with a chance of rain showers. Temperatures are set to be 25 degrees Celsius at the start of qualifying – around three degrees cooler than qualifying for the French GP.
Esteban Ocon, Renault F1 Team R.S.20, leads Daniel Ricciardo, Renault F1 Team R.S.20, Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT01, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35, George Russell, Williams FW43, and the remainder of the field at the start
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
What is the Styrian Grand Prix?
Due to race postponements and cancellations, F1 bosses have tweaked the 2021 calendar amid the ongoing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
After the cancellation of both the Canadian GP and Turkish GP – as well as the previous cancellations of the Chinese GP and Singapore GP plus the postponement of the Australian GP – F1 has reshuffled the calendar to accommodate a second race in Austria.
Last week’s French GP was moved forward by one week to make space for back-to-back Austrian races and both races at the Red Bull Ring will use the same format and schedule.
Why is it called the Styrian Grand Prix?
With each F1 grand prix requiring different names across a season, the series is familiar with using unusual race titles over the years, while it became a particular feature during the reshaped 2020 campaign.
Imola has hosted the Italian GP, the San Marino GP and the Emilia Romagna GP during its time on the F1 calendar, while other races have also been given unique names, such as the Caesars Palace Grand Prix in Las Vegas.
In 2020, the Red Bull Ring hosted the first-ever Styrian GP when it ran the second race of its double-header – but for 2021 the races have swapped around so the Styrian round, named after the region the circuit is located in, takes place one week before the traditional Austrian GP.
FP2 result
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Max Verstappen |
Red Bull | 1'05.412 | |
| 2 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
McLaren | 1'05.748 | 0.336 |
| 3 |  Esteban Ocon |
Alpine | 1'05.790 | 0.378 |
| 4 |  Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes | 1'05.796 | 0.384 |
| 5 |  Fernando Alonso |
Alpine | 1'05.827 | 0.415 |
| 6 |  Sebastian Vettel |
Aston Martin | 1'05.934 | 0.522 |
| 7 | Lando Norris |
McLaren | 1'05.994 | 0.582 |
| 8 |  Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin | 1'06.079 | 0.667 |
| 9 |  Sergio Perez |
Red Bull | 1'06.089 | 0.677 |
| 10 |  Antonio Giovinazzi |
Alfa Romeo | 1'06.145 | 0.733 |
| 11 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
Ferrari | 1'06.147 | 0.735 |
| 12 |  Valtteri Bottas |
Mercedes | 1'06.251 | 0.839 |
| 13 |  Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari | 1'06.270 | 0.858 |
| 14 | Kimi Raikkonen |
Alfa Romeo | 1'06.297 | 0.885 |
| 15 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
AlphaTauri | 1'06.451 | 1.039 |
| 16 | George Russell |
Williams | 1'06.628 | 1.216 |
| 17 | Mick Schumacher |
Haas | 1'06.886 | 1.474 |
| 18 |  Nikita Mazepin |
Haas | 1'07.404 | 1.992 |
| 19 | Nicholas Latifi |
Williams | 1'07.669 | 2.257 |
| 20 | Pierre Gasly |
AlphaTauri | ||
| View full results | ||||
FP1 result
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen |
Red Bull | 1'05.910 | |
| 2 | Pierre Gasly |
AlphaTauri | 1'06.166 | 0.256 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes | 1'06.332 | 0.422 |
| 4 | Valtteri Bottas |
Mercedes | 1'06.386 | 0.476 |
| 5 | Yuki Tsunoda |
AlphaTauri | 1'06.397 | 0.487 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso |
Alpine | 1'06.519 | 0.609 |
| 7 | Esteban Ocon |
Alpine | 1'06.551 | 0.641 |
| 8 | Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin | 1'06.584 | 0.674 |
| 9 | Antonio Giovinazzi |
Alfa Romeo | 1'06.614 | 0.704 |
| 10 | Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari | 1'06.629 | 0.719 |
| 11 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
Ferrari | 1'06.630 | 0.720 |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo |
McLaren | 1'06.669 | 0.759 |
| 13 | Sergio Perez |
Red Bull | 1'06.696 | 0.786 |
| 14 | Sebastian Vettel |
Aston Martin | 1'06.708 | 0.798 |
| 15 | George Russell |
Williams | 1'06.848 | 0.938 |
| 16 | Lando Norris |
McLaren | 1'06.861 | 0.951 |
| 17 | Nicholas Latifi |
Williams | 1'07.180 | 1.270 |
| 18 | Mick Schumacher |
Haas | 1'07.473 | 1.563 |
| 19 |  Robert Kubica |
Alfa Romeo | 1'07.823 | 1.913 |
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin |
Haas | 1'08.081 | 2.171 |
| View full results | ||||
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