Norris takes pole with the biggest margin so far this year, Bortoleto reaches Q3 for the first time and Sainz is out in Q1 at three races in a row for the first time in his career. Here are the facts and statistics from qualifying at the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix!
NORRIS ON POLE AT THE 2025 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX
Lando Norris took pole position for the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, securing the 12th pole of his career. This was Norris’ third pole position of the 2025 season.
Norris equalled Gerhard Berger and David Coulthard for 34th place in Formula 1’s all-time pole position list.
Recording his 12th pole position with McLaren, Norris overtook Kimi Raikkonen for fifth on the all-time list of most poles with McLaren, behind Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen, Lewis Hamilton and James Hunt.
Norris secured pole position by 0.521 seconds – the largest pole margin so far this year, and double the size of the pole margin for any Grand Prix so far in 2025. It was the biggest margin by which a driver has taken pole position since the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix.
This is the first time since the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix that a driver other than Max Verstappen has taken pole position for a race at the Red Bull Ring.
IN THE TOP TEN
Both Ferrari drivers equalled their best qualifying results of the season. Charles Leclerc qualified on the front row as he did in Monaco, while Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth having also done so in Monaco.
This was the third time in the last three years that Leclerc has qualified on the front row for the Austrian Grand Prix.
This was the fourth race in a row at which Hamilton qualified in the top five.
Qualifying third, Oscar Piastri maintained his record of qualifying in the top four at all of the 13 Grand Prix weekends.
This was the first time since their front row lock-out at the 2000 Austrian Grand Prix that both McLaren drivers qualified in the top three at the Red Bull Ring.
Liam Lawson qualified sixth for the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix. This was Lawson’s second-best qualifying result, having qualified fifth at the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Lawson became the first driver to reach Q3 for the Red Bull junior team at the Red Bull Ring since 2021 and equalled the team’s best-ever qualifying result at the track. This was his second Q3 appearance of the season so far.
With seventh place, Max Verstappen equalled his worst qualifying result of the year to date. He last qualified seventh at the Bahrain Grand Prix. It equalled his worst qualifying result from the last 14 races.
This was the first time since 2016 that Verstappen qualified outside of the top six at the Red Bull Ring.
With Verstappen seventh and Yuki Tsunoda out in Q1, this was the first time since 2016 that neither Red Bull driver qualified in the top six at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Gabriel Bortoleto reached Q3 for the first time in his career. This was the first time a Sauber driver reached Q3 in Austria since 2019.
Qualifying ninth for the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli can no longer become the youngest front row starter for a Grand Prix in F1. By the time of the next race, he will be older than when Lance Stroll set a new record at the 2017 Italian Grand Prix.
ELIMINATED IN Q2
Qualifying 11th for the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso ended a streak of four consecutive Q3 appearances.
This was Alonso’s seventh Q2 exit at the Red Bull Ring, extending his record for the most Q2 eliminations at the track.
Isack Hadjar qualified 13th, failing to reach Q3 for the first time since the Miami Grand Prix.
Ollie Bearman exited in Q2 at the Austrian Grand Prix, recording a third consecutive Q2 elimination.
With Bearman out in Q2 and Esteban Ocon out in Q1, this was the first time since 2021 that neither Haas driver reached Q3 in Austria.
OUT IN Q1
Carlos Sainz exited in Q1 for a third consecutive race weekend at the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix. This was the first time in his career that Sainz recorded three Q1 eliminations, with the previous race being only the second time that he had exited in Q1 at two successive events.
This was Sainz’s first Q1 exit at the Red Bull Ring. It was his first back row qualification since failing to set a time in qualifying for the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Sainz’s Q1 exit made this the 11th consecutive Red Bull Ring race in which at least one Williams driver failed to reach Q2.
Yuki Tsunoda was out in Q1 at the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, failing to make it out of the first stage of qualifying for the third time in the last five race weekends. The Miami Grand Prix remains the last time that he reached Q3.
This was the first ever Q1 exit for a Red Bull driver at the team’s home track and only the fourth time that a Red Bull driver has not reached Q3 in Austria.
2021 is the last time Tsunoda reached Q3 in Austria. This was his worst qualifying result to date at the Red Bull Ring.
Lance Stroll qualified 16th for the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, recording his fifth Q1 elimination at the Red Bull Ring. He equalled Kimi Raikkonen and Nicholas Latifi for the most Q1 exits at the circuit.
Esteban Ocon set the 17th fastest time, recording his first Q1 exit in Austria since 2021. He equalled his worst qualifying result at the track, having qualified 17th for both races at the track in 2021.
Ocon’s Q1 exit means that the Canadian Grand Prix is the only round of the season so far at which neither Haas driver has exited in Q1.
Ocon continues his pattern of being eliminated in Q1 at every other race so far in 2025.
Qualifying last, this was the first time in his nine Austrian Grand Prix appearances that Hulkenberg was out in Q1.
This is the first time Hulkenberg has qualified outside of the top 12 at the Red Bull Ring.
