Max Verstappen holds-off Lewis Hamilton for back-to-back pole positions in F1 championship fight... while Valtteri Bottas qualifies second but will start FIFTH with penalty at Styrian GP
- Max Verstappen will start the Styrian GP on pole after dominating qualifying
- The Red Bull driver dominated the three qualifying sessions to claim top spot
- Lewis Hamilton is locked in a dogged title battle with the Dutchman this season
Max Verstappen grabbed his second pole position in a week to apply more pressure on Lewis Hamilton, who qualified only third fastest for the Styrian Grand Prix.
The Dutchman set the pace, 0.194 sec ahead of Valtteri Bottas, who was second best, with a fraction further back.
Hamilton has now failed to take pole since the Spanish Grand Prix four races ago.
Max Verstappen made it back-to-back poles in Formula 1 as he bolstered his title credentials
The Red Bull driver produced an assured display in qualifying to dominate for pole position
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However, he will start Sunday's race here in the Austrian countryside second on the grid after Bottas takes a three-place drop for spinning his Mercedes in the pit lane on Friday
As for Verstappen, he set two lap times that were quick enough for pole at the Red Bull Ring, his team's undulating home track.
Hamilton said 'sorry guys' after his underperformance.
Lewis Hamilton never quite found his best form as he trudged out of the car back to the garage
Lando Norris qualified fourth for McLaren, a fine display as he clearly beat his more experienced – and better paid – team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who qualified a chastening 13th.
It is the fifth time in the last six races that the English driver has out-qualified the Australian.
Ferrari had a disappointing day, with Charles Leclerc seventh quickest and Carlos Sainz 12th.
It was yet another strong Saturday showing by George Russell, who came within a whisker of making it into Q3 – just eight-thousandths off.
The 23-year-old Brit qualified 11th and is still to make it into the top 10 in a Williams despite beating his team-mate on every occasion across three seasons.
The seven-time world champion will start second because Valtteri Bottas - who qualified second - has a grid penalty that will see him start down in fifth for Sunday's race
Another dominant drive from Max Verstappen sets him up beautifully to chase his third victory in four races, and Red Bull's fourth in a row.
They're flying on their home track this weekend, with rivals Mercedes off the pace all day.
1 VER
2 BOT
3 HAM
4 NOR
5 PER
6 GAS
7 LEC
8 TSU
9 ALO
10 STR
As Christian Horner informs Verstappen he did two laps good enough to top the standings over the radio, the Dutchman can celebrate his third pole of the season.
Bottas slides into second in Q3 but will start fifth thanks to his three-place grid penalty. Hamilton was out-qualified by his team-mate on a frustrating afternoon for the champion, but will start on the front row.
Lando Norris puts in another storming drive at the Red Bull Ring, and will start on the second-row tomorrow.
Verstappen won't come under threat from Hamilton, who goes wide and gives up on his final drive. Not a fun qualifying for the Brit.
Here we go, the drivers are all queuing up to get the tow and blast through one final lap.
Can anyone unseat Verstappen and stop the Dutchman taking his third pole of the season?
Lewis gives it a whirl again, improving to strengthen his position on the front-row, still two-tenths behind Max.
Right now, we have:
1 VER
2 HAM
3 NOR
4 BOT
5 PER
6 GAS
7 LEC
8 STR
9 TSU
10 ALO
Verstappen has been ruthless so far today, flying under 1:04 for the first time this weekend to top the time-sheets.
Hamilton trails by three-tenths, with Norris flying in fractionally behind the Mercedes, ahead of Bottas.
Perez fifth right now.
Here come the rest after Hamilton sets the benchmark with a 1:04:2
Lando Norris is among those on his way out. Last season he performed brilliantly at Austria and he's been on fire in 2021, can he produce his best qualifying performance in F1?
We're underway in Q3, with Lewis Hamilton the first out, aiming to set the benchmark.
They'll need much more pace to challenge for pole after coming up short in Q1 and 2.
Seb Vettel has a disappointing qualifying down in 14th, being out-qualified by his team-mate.
The German icon has been on fire on Sunday recently, but faces a big job for a decent points score in Austria.
Mercedes have work to do...
1 PER
2 NOR
3 GAS
4 VER
5 BOT
6 HAM
7 ALO
8 TSU
9 LEC
10 STR
11 RUS
12 SAI
13 RIC
14 VET
15 GIO
Ferrari's woes continue as Sainz goes wide late on his lap and crashes-out of Q2, though Leclerc improves for ninth.
Perez and Norris lead with a tenth between them, with the McLaren driver flying so far today.
Russell misses-out by fractions of a second, a strong 11th on the grid tomorrow.
Giovinazzi, Vettel, Ricciardo, Sainz and Russell out.
Mercedes aren't getting too much pace out of Hamilton's car this Saturday, whose final Q2 lap is only good enough for fifth provisionally.
He's only 0.08 down on Verstappen, but won't be pleased.
Here we go, Hamilton is out on track all by himself, starting his flying lap.
He's only got a two-tenth advantage of Leclerc in the drop zone, so an improved time is critical.
While his team-mate is right up there with the best times, Ricciardo is struggling again in Q2, and in danger of being dominated by the Brit once more on Saturday.
In danger right now...
11 LEC
12 VET
12 RUS
14 RIC
15 GIO
Pierre Gasly puts in another quick qualifying lap, topping the time-sheets ahead of Verstappen. Norris is speedy again, nestling in behind the Red Bull.
Hamilton improves his time but is only good enough for fifth fastest, almost two-tenths off the Frenchman.
Max Verstappen is on it this weekend, posting the fastest time with his team-mate Sergio Perez narrowly behind.
Hamilton makes an error on his first run, going deep into turn 2 and coming in eight-tenths behind his Dutch rival.
Nine drivers on their out-laps now.
We're underway in Q2, with Daniel Ricciardo needing to put in a much better time and his Q1 performance to have any chance of making it through.
It's a big disappointment for Esteban Ocon who is the headline name culled in Q1.
The Frenchman isn't gelling with this Alpine car, with only 12 points so far this season.
Verstappen tops the time sheets as Norris impresses, while Mr Saturday, George Russell, gets his Williams into Q2 once again.
1 VER
2 BOT
3 NOR
4 TSU
5 PER
6 HAM
7 LEC
8 GAS
9 STR
10 SAI
11 ALO
12 RUS
13 VET
14 GIO
15 RIC
16 LAT
17 OCN
18 RAI
19 MSC
20 MAZ
Ricciardo barely scrapes into Q2 after posting the second-best time in FP2.
Perez was in danger after a dodgy first lap, but he made amends by rising up to fifth.
Latifi, Ocon, Raikonnen, Schumacher and Mazepin all exit.
Everyone is on their final lap now. Raikkonen and Schumacher can't improve, as Stroll and Sainz steam up the standings and away from the danger zone.
Kimi Raikkonen goes wide at turn four and ruins his lap as he sits in danger down in 18th.
Everyone in and preparing for one final lap. Ricciardo, Perez, Ocon and Vettel all hovering dangerously above the elimination zone.
10th Stroll
11th Perez
12th Sainz
13th Vettel
14th Ocon
15th Ricciardo
16th Giovinazzi
17th Russel
18th Raikkonen
19th Schumacher
20th Mazespin
Nicholas Latifi has given himself a very strong chance of escaping Q1, rising up to seventh with a rapid time, six tenth off Verstappen.
Sergio Perez as just gone through slower than the Williams.
Meanwhile, Mercedes are primed to cruise through, with Bottas going second-fastest, Hamilton two places behind the Fin.
A superb lap from Lando Norris surges the British rider up to second, within a tenth of Verstappen who leads right now.
Lando bagged his first F1 podium at this track last year, he likes Austria.
We have four cars out on track, with Latifi leading the charge to put in the benchmark time.
His team-mate Russell is out too, with Schumacher and Mazepin on track too.
We're underway at the Red Bull ring, though nobody is in a hurry to get out on track, with no cars queuing up for the start of Q1.
Who'll be the first to set a time...
Time is ticking down now to the start of Q1, as the teams prepare for their first runs.
Can George Russell get his Williams out of the first round again? Who'll set the pace between the championship rivals, Red Bull and Mercedes?
Always one of the most picturesque tracks on the calendar, Austria has earned it's reputation as a fan favourite venue.
Last season the Styrian GP was the second race of the season in the first ever Austrian double-header, seeing a dramatic qualifying in the rain.
Hamilton emerged from the spray to bag pole by more than a second from Verstappen, as Mercedes' breathtakingly quick 2020 car began to stamp its authority on the championship.
McLaren's Sainz bagged third spot, while Ferrari's horror-season was getting off to it's miserable start, with Vettel's 10th place on the grid all the Scuderia could manage.
The Russian GP is set for a shake-up in 2023, with news breaking this morning of a move to Moscow from the unpopular Sochi track.
Valtteri Bottas will start Sunday's race with a three-place grid penalty no matter where he qualifies, having had a dangerous spin in the pits during FP2.
The Finnish driver is under big pressure at Mercedes, with George Russell looking more and more likely to replace him in the off-season. He needs to start performing, and these blunders won't help.
Toto Wolff has just told Sky Sports he thinks the penalty is 'harsh'.
This morning's final practice session saw the defending champion top the time-sheets, just 0.204s ahead of his championship rival...
1 Hamilton
2 Verstappen
3 Bottas
4 Perez
5 Tsunoda
6 Gasly
7 Leclerc
8 Alonso
9 Stroll
10 Vettel
Good afternoon and welcome to Sportsmail's coverage of the Styrian Grand Prix, kicking off two weeks in Austria.
The pressure is building on Lewis Hamilton as Max Verstappen builds his lead in the championships, so expect another high-pressure, action-packed qualifying session.
Stay tuned right here for all the build-up and live updates from TOBY MILES.
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