Charles Leclerc scored his second Formula 1 pole position with an excellent performance in qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The Monegasque produced two brilliant laps in the top 10 shootout, rounding off with a lap record of 1m03.003s to lead Lewis Hamilton by a quarter of a second.
His P2 is under threat, however, as the stewards are investigating a possible block with Kimi Raikkonen at Turn 3 during Q1.
There was big frustration for Sebastian Vettel as a car issue between Q2 and Q3 left the German unable to take part, meaning he will start P9 on the grid.
Max Verstappen capitalised on a steady day for Mercedes to finish third for Red Bull, beating Valtteri Bottas by a tenth of a second.
Kevin Magnussen led the midfield in fifth but will take a five-second penalty for a gearbox change, dropping the Haas down to 10th.
That means Lando Norris will take his place on the grid as McLaren continue their strong form.
Alfa Romeo enjoyed a strong session as Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi will start sixth and seventh, but it was another poor day for Pierre Gasly with the Frenchman ninth.
As expected the margins to make the top 10 were tiny with Magnussen pipping teammate Romain Grosjean by 0.023s to get into Q3.
A big surprise was Renault, as Nico Hulkenberg was only P12 with Daniel Ricciardo 14th as they slipped back from recent strong performances.
Alex Albon was the meat in the yellow sandwich in 13th but will fall to the back of the grid due to an engine penalty as will Carlos Sainz, who was 15th.
Q1 saw disappointment for Racing Point as Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll missed the cut by mere hundredths of a second in 16th and 17th.
For the Canadian, it marked the 13th straight failure to get out of the first part of qualifying, although both drivers will move up three positions on the grid.
Daniil Kvyat suffered traffic at the final two corners on his final attempt, leaving the Russian down in 18th for Toro Rosso and 16th on the grid.
While the two Williams’ again brought up the field with George Russell making it 9-0 versus Robert Kubica on a Saturday.
Back at the front though and Leclerc has a great chance to gain redemption for Bahrain, when a car failure cost him a certain victory.
Strategy is going to be key though, as the Ferrari will start on the soft tyre compared to the mediums on both Mercedes’ and Verstappen but it means a thrilling race is in store in Spielberg.
Full results from qualifying can be seen below:
