Max Verstappen delivered a qualifying session to remember, storming to pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix. Lando Norris was second-fastest for McLaren, while George Russell rounded out the top three after beating his team-mate once again.

Cars were immediately feeling the pressure in Q1 and when the cars headed out for their final runs, drivers as high as Norris in fourth place were on track trying to improve. Chief among those needing to better their times was Lewis Hamilton, who survived after sitting down in P16 following a lock-up on his previous run.

Hamilton ultimately finished the session in P7 but told race engineer Pete Bonnington “I’m just slow mate” after an underwhelming final run. Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso both scraped through Q1, while Lance Stroll joined the Williams and Sauber duos in the bottom five.

While Alonso scraped through Q1, he couldn’t repeat the feat in Q2. The two-time world champion was lucky not to crash at Turn Seven on his penultimate run and couldn’t find pace on his final lap, finishing bottom of the 15 cars. Also eliminated were the two VCARB drivers, while Pierre Gasly and Kevin Magnussen were unable to improve enough.

When the first laps of Q3 were laid down, the order was roughly as expected with Verstappen leading Norris, but the gaps between the pair were far from regular as the reigning champion punched in a time that was over three-and-a-half tenths clear of the McLaren man.