F1 Qualifying Results and Report for the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix

The three practice sessions around Red Bull Ring in Austria bred another series of 'expected' results for the F1 Grid. Mercedes and McLaren looked generally dominant, although McLaren is running this weekend without impending upgrades.

Notably, however, Norris had to skip out on most of FP1 after a hydraulic leak, only completing nine laps. Similarly, Verstappen and Red Bull experienced anti-stall issues, cutting his session short.

Yet again, Mercedes looks to be the dominant team. After FP3, Hamilton was the only driver able to get within a tenth of Russell and Antonelli. Hamilton is riding a high into this weekend following his first Ferrari win in Barcelona last time out, but can he take it to the Mercedes pair in single-lap qualifying?

After an investigation due to a yellow flag in Q3, George Russell claimed the Austrian Grand Prix Pole. This is his second back-to-back Pole Position after the last race in Barcelona.

F1 Austrian Grand Prix 2026: Q1 Results

Yet again, the bottom four are made up of the usual subjects – both Aston Martin and Cadillac drivers. Aston Martin has been vastly off the pace this entire season with no upgrades brought to the car. It is expected that next weekend at Silverstone, Aston Martin will deploy upgrades that ostensibly will provide Alonso and Stroll with a 'new car'.

Esteban Ocon, Haas, 2026 F1 pre-season testing | Haas F1 Team

Both Williams drivers also fell at the last hurdle after several drivers were able to make it out of FP1 in their final laps. Esteban Ocon of Haas and both Hulkenberg and Bortoleto of Audi knocked out the Williams pair. Ocon went just two hundredths faster than Sainz, which is a necessary result for the driver whose seat is in question for 2027.

Further up the grid, it appeared that Russell was struggling during the first part of Q1. He sounded dejected on the radio, complaining of all four tires sliding. He finished in P4 during this session, but the Mercedes outfit didn't sound confident that he would achieve a front-row start.

Position	Driver / Team	Gap to Q2 [s]
17.	Carlos Sainz / Williams	+0.021
18.	Alex Albon / Williams	+0.278
19.	Sergio Perez / Cadillac	+0.714
20.	Valtteri Bottas / Cadillac	+0.799
21.	Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin	+1.711
22.	Lance Stroll / Aston Martin	+2.132

F1 Austrian Grand Prix 2026: Q2 Results

The Austrian Grand Prix Q1 and Q2 results are a testament to evenly matched drivers at each of the teams. Both drivers from Alpine, Audi, and Haas fell at the second hurdle before the top 10 shootout. These drivers, however, are not the Q2 story.

First, Mercedes' George Russell sat 16th for most of the session, complaining about his tires again. Mercedes' Team Principal Wolff got on the radio and quickly told Russell to "just drive" as four minutes remained in the session and no time was set. Russell was able to get up to P4 with his singular flying lap attempt.

Pierre Gasly Alpine — May 22, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CANADA; Alpine driver Pierre Gasly (10) during practice session before the Lenovo Grand Prix Du Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images | David Kirouac-Imagn Images

It appeared that Red Bull and Verstappen may also be facing issues, as he has only put in one flying lap in Q1 and Q2. In Q2, however, this nearly became devastating for Verstappen as he quickly fell to P10 and Pierre Gasly nearly knocked him out of the Top 10 spots.

Position	Driver / Team	Gap to Q3 [s]
11.	Pierre Gasly / Alpine	+0.040
12.	Gabriel Bortoleto / Audi	+0.110
13.	Ollie Bearman / Haas	+0.340
14.	Nico Hulkenberg / Audi	+0.428
15.	Esteban Ocon / Haas	+0.634
16.	Franco Colapinto / Alpine	+0.988

F1 Austrian Grand Prix 2026: Q3 Results

The big story of the day comes from the final moments of Q3. Max Verstappen, on to challenge Charles Leclerc for the pole position, lost the car into Turn 9 causing a Yellow Flag. The controversy comes from George Russell allegedly 'lifting' enough to obey the yellow flag, but taking pole away from Charles by over two tenths of a second.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull | Red Bull Content Pool

After investigation by the FIA and Stewards, George Russell is on pole with both Ferrari's behind.

Position	Driver / Team	Gap [s]
1.	Russell / Mercedes	-
2.	Charles Leclerc / Ferrari	+0.236
3.	Lewis Hamilton / Ferrari	+0.295
4.	Kimi Antonelli / Mercedes	+0.301
5.	Max Verstappen / Red Bull	+0.362
6.	Lando Norris / McLaren	+0.389
7.	Oscar Piastri / McLaren	+0.398
8.	Isack Hadjar / Red Bull	+0.519
9.	Liam Lawson / VCARB	+0.842
10.	Arvid Lindblad / VCARB	+0.894

The Austrian Grand Prix begins at 9AM (ET) tomorrow.

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