Summary

  • Dramatic end to qualifying as George Russell claims pole position in Spielberg

  • Mercedes' Russell says he lifted for yellow flag following Max Verstappen's crash, but Charles Leclerc was top of timesheets

  • Leclerc will start second and Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton third

  • Out in Q2: Pierre Gasly, Gabriel Bortoleto, Ollie Bearman, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, Franco Colapinto

  • Out in Q1: Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll

  • Kimi Antonelli leads Hamilton by 41 points in title race

  • Austrian Grand Prix declared heat-hazard race amid heatwave

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Live Reporting

Jay Freeman and Tasnim Chowdhury

  1. Six one hundredths of a second separates the top three.

    Rapid stuff today.

    Meanwhile Lewis Hamilton is out in his Ferrari. Have they misjudged this session? He'll need something special here with the relative pace Mercedes - and Max Verstappen - have set.

    Lewis HamiltonGetty Images

  2. Sam Bird
    Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Live

    We have seen a lot of drivers struggling with exactly that [braking] at Turn Three. One of the hardest braking points, probably in the calendar, is Turn Three here in Austria. It is an area that is catching people out.

  3. Top five

    1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

    2. George Russell (Mercedes)

    3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

    4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

    5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

  4. Hamilton: "Can I go for a second lap?"

    Engineer: "Negative."

    Hamilton: "We were supposed to have a banker... why?"

  5. Meanwhile Lewis Hamilton's back in the Ferrari garage. He's come in without a banker lap.

    He's the only driver not to set a time so far with just under five minutes left on the clock.

  6. Anything you can do better...

    Kimi Antonelli's having none of that. He belts his Mercedes round the track and goes fastest with a 1:06.414.

    And he's joined by George Russell who goes second 0.043 seconds behind.

  7. Verstappen fastest

    Lando Norris sets a 1:06.900 with the first lap of Q3 but here comes Max Verstappen with a monster of a lap.

    The Orange Army roars as he crosses with a remarkable 1:06.475 - the fastest time we've had all weekend.

    Max VerstappenGetty Images

  8. Sam Bird
    Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Live

    We have all discounted George Russell. He has got the fastest car out there. If he makes some tweaks, either software wise or driving wise, there is no reason why he can't join his team-mate on the front row of the grid.

  9. Go! Go! Go!

    Q3 is a-go!

    This is going to be exciting, isn't it?

  10. So, both Alpines, Haas' and Audis out of Q2. This is after Williams, Cadillac and Aston Martin ducked out after Q1.

    Not much mixing about among the drivers, it's very much a team game today. Albeit Max Verstappen ran very close to breaking the team elimination pattern.

    Verstappen, however, goes into Q3 with two new sets of tyres so he could benefit from narrowly avoiding being booted out.

    Max VerstappenGetty Images

  11. Team radio - Gasly to Alpine

    Gasly: "That felt like a very good lap. Tell me we're through"

    Engineer: "We're not unfortunately mate"

    Gasly: "Ah"

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    Cadillac, a brand new from-scratch team, a second ahead of Aston Martin. Brilliant for them, embarrassing for the latter with their means available. And no it's not all Honda's.

    Nick, Wirral

  13. Sam Bird
    Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Live

    I think [Max Verstappen] left time on the table out of Turn Nine, he had another half a metre of track he could have used to carry a bit more minimum speed through Turn Nine. Lucky escape there for Max Verstappen and Red Bull.

  14. Squeaky bum time in the Red Bull garage shortly before the end of that session.

    Max Verstappen was almost knocked out by Pierre Gasly, who fell just short of reaching Q3 by two hundredths of a second.

    Dutch fans in the grandstandGetty Images

  15. Out in Q2

    11. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

    12. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)

    13. Ollie Bearman (Haas)

    14. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)

    15. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

    16. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

  16. Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent

    That is a really interesting remark from Toto Wolff, he very rarely comes on the radio in a Grand Prix, let alone a qualifying session and to me that is saying that he is thinking George Russell has got in his own head almost. He's focussing on all sorts of problems on the car that doesn't sound like Toto Wolff really believes are actually there. But Russell has not had a good qualifying so far.

  17. George Russell goes fourth fastest with a time of 1:06.979.

    That's two tenths off his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli who holds top spot at the minute.

    Just before Russell set that time, Toto Wolff had told him over the radio "George, just drive". Deary me.

    George RussellGetty Images

  18. Team radio - Piastri to McLaren

    Piastri: "The centre line of my front right tyre looks like it's got some weird lines in it."

  19. Kimi Antonelli has just gone quickest with a 1:06.763 and if I'm not mistaken we're now into the 1:06 mark for the first time this weekend.

    Oscar Piastri hauls his McLaren second fastest 0.127 behind with the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in third and fourth as Max Verstappen sits in fifth as it stands.

    George Russell's yet to officially set a time with just over three minutes left on the clock.

  20. Drop zone

    11. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)

    12. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

    13. Ollie Bearman (Haas)

    14. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)

    15. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

    16. George Russell (Mercedes)