Max Verstappen proved a cut above the rest as the claimed pole position for the Styrian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver would be the only man to break the 64s mark in Spielberg, posting a 1m03.841s to finish two-tenths clear of the two Mercedes’.
Lando Norris was the other big star of qualifying, earning himself a top-three start at the track he claimed his maiden podium on almost a year ago in the McLaren.
Q1
Verstappen set the pace from Valtteri Bottas, with Norris unexpectedly within a tenth in third.
The start of qualifying was a struggle for Sergio Perez in the sister Red Bull, with the Mexican needing a second set of tyres to guarantee safety into Q2.
In the elimination zone, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was the biggest surprise in 17th, just behind Nicholas Latifi in a strong 16th for Williams.
Kimi Raikkonen finished 18th, as the two Haas’ completed the grid with Mick Schumacher ahead of Nikita Mazepin.
Q2
At the front, Red Bull split the strategy with Verstappen on mediums and Perez on soft, while both Mercedes’ played safe on the medium compound.
In the fight to make Q3, George Russell missed out on his first appearance with Williams by just 0.008s in P11.
Carlos Sainz was a disappointing 12th after losing his final attempt for exceeding track limits, while Daniel Ricciardo was 0.6s slower than McLaren teammate Norris in 13th.
Sebastian Vettel was 14th with Antonio Giovinazzi completing the top 15 for Alfa Romeo.
Q3
Hamilton went out first and laid the benchmark at a 1m04.2s for the rest to chase, with Verstappen responding by going three-tenths faster and the first driver sub 1m04s.
Norris put himself third for McLaren, ahead of both Bottas and Perez in third and fourth.
Hamilton’s second run of three in Q3, while better, was still two-tenths off the Red Bull, leaving Verstappen as the man to beat ahead of the final attempts.
But nobody could as the Dutchman claimed pole for the second straight week.
Bottas moved up to second with his last lap but will drop to fifth following his three-place penalty for the pit-lane spin on Friday, promoting Hamilton, who made a mistake on his final run, back onto the front row.
Lando Norris starts third ahead of Sergio Perez in fourth ahead of the demoted Bottas.
AlphaTauri had a strong session with Pierre Gasly sixth and Yuki Tsunoda returning to form in eighth.
Charles Leclerc was seventh, as Fernando Alonso continued his impressive recent run in ninth. Lance Stroll rounded out the top 10 for Aston Martin.
So despite Hamilton throwing everything at qualifying, Verstappen proved simply too good and finds himself in prime position to go for victory on Sunday.
Perez will no doubt be a threat on his alternative tyre strategy, while Bottas too will want to atone for the penalty from P5.
Another factor that could intervene is the weather, but for now, the sun is continuing to shine on Red Bull at the Red Bull Ring.
Full results from qualifying can be seen below:
