Lando Norris achieved a sensational performance to take pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix of more than half a second on one of the shortest towers of the year.
Norris beat Charles Leclerc de Ferrari 0.521 second, with Oscar Piastri de McLaren, the championship chief, more than 0.062 seconds behind.
Lewis Hamilton put the second fourth Ferrari, 0.090 seconds slower than his teammate and George Russell de Mercedes.
The Max Verstappen of Red Bull could only manage seventh place – it was caught up in yellow flags during its last race, but had only been sixth on its first round anyway.
Norris said: “It was a good round, that’s for sure. My Q3 race was good but I knew there were a few places where if I just did things well, I could catch up a little more time and I did it.”
This exceptional round was exactly what Norris needed when he arrived in Austria at 22 points behind Piastri in the championship after having crashed from the previous race in Canada following the meeting of his teammate.
Norris said: “The qualifications were some of my difficult times, so put a ride like that is pleasant for me.
“It’s a long race tomorrow and a long season. I want to prove it myself and again and this is only the start.”
