Sprint qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix sees the grid set for the Sprint on Saturday around the Red Bull Ring.
With the Sprint format having now had a split between this and ‘standard’ qualifying for the Grand Prix, the drivers are able to focus fully on the Sprint qualifying as a result.
2024 Austrian Grand Prix Sprint qualifying results
As a reminder, the format mirrors Grand Prix qualifying in that the bottom five drivers get eliminated at the end of SQ1 (Sprint qualifying 1) and SQ2, with the top 10 shooting out for pole – though the sessions are shortened to 12, 10 and eight minutes respectively.
The drivers have to take part in SQ1 and SQ2 on medium tyres, with soft tyres mandatory for SQ3, with only one set of each available in each part of the session.
In SQ1, Lewis Hamilton ran wide into the gravel at Turn 6 and kicked up gravel, losing him time and getting his first lap time deleted in the process, with the same applying to Zhou Guanyu.
This left a second run required for most drivers on the same set of medium tyres as they looked for a way through to SQ2, and Hamilton worked his way through traffic to put himself P11 as others wound up for a final run.
Yuki Tsunoda ran wide at Turn 9 and spun late on, but his initial run was enough to see him through to SQ2.
It was medium tyres again for SQ2, with another five drivers to lose as the remaining cars had a little more room to work with at the Red Bull Ring during the session.
This time, Kevin Magnussen just missed out for Haas and will start P11 ahead of the Aston Martin duo of Lance Stroll and Aston Martin, with Tsunoda and Logan Sargeant – out-qualifying Alex Albon for the second time in three Sprints this season – rounding out the session.
This left the top 10 shootout to come, and Max Verstappen had established himself as the favourite after topping the first two sessions, though Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren were all nipping at his heels.
With one lap with the tyres at their peak, the drivers opted to wait for much of the final part of qualifying before heading out, but once they did, Charles Leclerc’s engine appeared to not work properly and, by the time it did, he had a matter of seconds in hand to get to the line in time – but he did not make it, punching the wheel in frustration as he crossed the line.
But as was the case in Austria, it was Verstappen and Lando Norris clear of the rest, but the Red Bull driver had enough in hand to pip the McLaren to pole position by less than a tenth of a second for the Sprint in Austria.
Key stats from the Austrian Grand Prix weekend
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Austrian Grand Prix 2024: SQ1 results
1 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull 1:05.690
2 George RUSSELL Mercedes +0.074
3 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +0.091
4 Lando NORRIS McLaren +0.096
5 Lance STROLL Aston Martin +0.347
6 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren +0.391
7 Charles LECLERC Ferrari +0.459
8 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull +0.566
9 Esteban OCON Alpine +0.653
10 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas +0.697
11 Pierre GASLY Alpine +0.775
12 Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin +0.797
13 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes +0.814
14 Logan SARGEANT Williams +0.828
15 Yuki TSUNODA RB +0.867
Eliminated
16 Daniel RICCIARDO RB +0.891
17 Nico HULKENBERG Haas +0.893
18 Valtteri BOTTAS Kick Sauber +1.035
19 Alexander ALBON Williams +1.064
20 Guanyu ZHOU Kick Sauber +1.507
Austrian Grand Prix 2024: SQ2 results
1 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull 1:05.186
2 George RUSSELL Mercedes +0.139
3 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren +0.193
4 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +0.249
5 Charles LECLERC Ferrari +0.340
6 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes +0.353
7 Lando NORRIS McLaren +0.375
8 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull +0.426
9 Esteban OCON Alpine +0.500
10 Pierre GASLY Alpine +0.571
Eliminated
11 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas +0.620
12 Lance STROLL Aston Martin +0.661
13 Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin +0.692
14 Yuki TSUNODA RB +0.774
15 Logan SARGEANT Williams +0.827
Austrian Grand Prix 2024: SQ3 results/provisional grid
1 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull 1:04.686
2 Lando NORRIS McLaren +0.093
3 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren +0.301
4 George RUSSELL Mercedes +0.368
5 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +0.440
6 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes +0.584
7 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull +1.322
8 Esteban OCON Alpine +1.415
9 Pierre GASLY Alpine +1.938
10 Charles LECLERC Ferrari NO TIME
11 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas
12 Lance STROLL Aston Martin
13 Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin
14 Yuki TSUNODA RB
15 Logan SARGEANT Williams
16 Daniel RICCIARDO RB
17 Nico HULKENBERG Haas
18 Valtteri BOTTAS Kick Sauber
19 Alexander ALBON Williams
20 Guanyu ZHOU Kick Sauber
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