Norris stuns field with dominant pole in Austria as Verstappen struggles

June 28, 20252 Mins read97 Views

Lando Norris delivered a brilliant performance to claim pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix, beating the field by more than half a second on one of the shortest and most intense laps of the Formula 1 calendar.

The McLaren driver set a blistering lap in Q3 to finish 0.521 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri just 0.062 seconds further back in third.

Lewis Hamilton put the second Ferrari in fourth, only 0.090 seconds off Leclerc, while Mercedes’ George Russell rounded out the top five.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen endured a frustrating session, managing only seventh. He was hindered by yellow flags on his final attempt following a double spin by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly but had only been sixth-fastest on his first run.

“It was a good lap, that’s for sure,” Norris said. “My first Q3 run was strong, but I knew there were a few corners where I could find more time—and I nailed it. I’m proud of that.”

The pole is a crucial response from Norris, who arrived in Austria trailing Piastri by 22 points in the standings after crashing out in Canada when he rear-ended his teammate.

“Qualifying has been tough for me lately,” he added. “So to deliver this today means a lot. It’s a long race tomorrow, and a long season. I want to keep proving myself—and this is just the start.”

Leclerc’s front-row start marks only Ferrari’s second of the season—both courtesy of the Monegasque, who was also second in Monaco. His strong showing follows the introduction of a new floor upgrade Ferrari hope will boost their title chances.

“I’m very happy with the lap,” said Leclerc. “We’ve had a tough year, but the new parts have clearly helped. I hope we can put some pressure on McLaren in the race—Lando must’ve done an incredible lap.”

Piastri, who had trailed Norris by 0.286 seconds after the first Q3 runs, saw his chance to improve thwarted by Gasly’s incident.

“I didn’t get to start my final lap because I was behind Gasly when he spun,” said the Australian. “Lando’s been quick all weekend, so beating him would’ve been tough—but I definitely had the speed for the front row.”

Verstappen, meanwhile, was left scratching his head after a qualifying session that never clicked.

“It just didn’t come together,” the reigning champion admitted. “There wasn’t a single corner where I felt the balance was right. We were close to McLaren in practice, but in qualifying it just disappeared.”

Verstappen was also outqualified by Liam Lawson, driving for Red Bull’s sister team Racing Bulls, who took an impressive sixth place.

Elsewhere, rookie Gabriel Bortoleto reached Q3 for the first time in his Sauber, qualifying eighth ahead of Mercedes youngster Kimi Antonelli and the unlucky Gasly.