Valtteri Bottas will start the season opening Austrian Grand Prix from pole position, despite running wide on his final flying lap of qualifying at the Red Bull Ring.
The Finn set a new lap record with his first timed lap in Q3, and was pushing to go faster towards the end of the session before the rear of his Mercedes stepped out, sending him through the gravel.
Teammate Lewis Hamilton couldn’t take advantage of Bottas’s error though, failing to improve with his second effort.
McLaren’s Lando Norris will be starting on the second row, having split the Red Bulls, while Charles Leclerc was the only Ferrari driver to make it through to the top 10 shootout after Sebastian Vettel lacked pace in Q2.
Both Racing Point cars made it through the Q3, with Sergio Perez securing a spot on row three.
This year’s only rookie, Nicholas Latifi, will be starting at the back of the grid, while both Alfa Romeos were also knocked out in Q1, with Antonio Giovinazzi missing out after a trip into the gravel.
Provisional qualifying result:
1 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
4. Lando Norris (McLaren)
5. Alexander Albon (Red Bull)
6. Sergio Perez (Racing Point)
7. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
8. Carlos Sainz (McLaren)
9. Lance Stroll (Racing Point)
10. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault)
11. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
12. Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri)
13. Daniil Kvyat (Alpha Tauri)
14. Esteban Ocon (Renault)
15. Romain Grosjean (Haas)
16. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
17. George Russell (Williams)
18. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)
19. Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo)
20. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
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