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Max seventh in Spielberg after yellow flag in qualifying: 'Miles off'

Published on 28 June 2025 by Florence Cobben

Max Verstappen has qualified in P7 for the Grand Prix of Austria, after having to abort his last lap at the end of qualifying. The Oracle Red Bull Racing-driver was interrupted during his final flying lap by a yellow flag, impeding his chances to gain a better starting position. Lando Norris, driving for McLaren, took pole position, with about half-a-second gap to Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) in second. McLaren-teammate Oscar Piastri qualified in P3.

Max doesn’t credit the disappointing result only to bad luck: “The whole of qualifying didn't go well at all. Up until qualifying we weren’t fast enough, but things were a bit better in FP3. There was no turn where the car felt good, so that is a huge problem in qualifying. It was not nice to drive.”

Despite his misgivings, a third place was still in the cards for him had it not been for a yellow flag. Max responds: “It would have been close, potentially, up until the yellow flag. But that’s still miles off pole, you know? I’m only looking at first place, and the distance is still five- or sixth-tenths, which is dramatic.”

The Dutchman now looks ahead to tomorrow, though he doesn’t rate his chances highly: “I don’t think we’re strong enough to challenge the McLarens, they’re at another level. Hopefully tomorrow we can at least be competitive with Ferrari or Mercedes. I don’t know. With the balance that I had in quali, for sure that does not look great for tomorrow. But, we’ll analyse everything. I don’t really look at the standings, I just want to do the best I can in the race weekend.”

In front of a massive crowd of Max supporters at the Red Bull Ring, the Austrian Grand Prix gets underway after a short delay. Max puts in his first flying lap, setting a 1:05.106 time, which places him in P2 behind Lando Norris. As Max returns to the pits, Piastri nestles in between him and Norris, demoting Max to third. Max, alongside the other drivers, heads out for a second run, but being in P6, he doesn’t need to set a faster time to be safe and through to Q2. Esteban Ocon (P17), Yuki Tsunoda (P18), Carlos Sainz (P19) and Nico Hulkenberg (P20) are the early exiters of this qualifying.

Max has a messy first lap in Q2, producing a time only marginally faster than his Q1 time. It places Max in P5, behind the McLarens and Ferraris. Lewis Hamilton, in going wide in the last turn, causes some grass to catch fire and a brief red flag is waved.

After a short while the track is greenlit with five minutes remaining. All the drivers gear up for one more flying lap. Max improves his time to 1:04.836, placing him on P4. The Dutchman is safely through to Q3. Eliminated after the second round of qualifying are: Fernando Alonso (P11), Alexander Albon (P12), Isack Hadjar (P13), Franco Colapinto (P14) and Oliver Bearman (P15).

In Q3, Max heads out for his first run on used soft tyres. On the worn rubber he manages a time of 1:04.929, placing him momentarily in P6, with Norris on P1. For the second run Max switches to a fresh set. As he's racing around the track, Pierre Gasly spins coming out of the last turn. The Frenchman only rights his cars after two pirouettes. Max, right behind the incident, has to abort his lap as a brief yellow flag is waved. He loses out on a chance to improve his time. 

Shortly after, Lando Norris sets a blisteringly fast lap and takes his third pole position of the season. The McLaren driver is about half a second faster than Charles Leclerc in P2, while Oscar Piastri claims third place. Lewis Hamilton ends qualifying in fourth place, with George Russell on P5. Liam Lawson impresses with a sixth place, leaving Max in seventh. Gabriel Bortoleto throws his hat in the ring for rookie of the year by finishing eighth, while Kimi Antonelli and Pierre Gasly complete the top ten.

The Austrian Grand Prix concludes at 15.00 on Sunday with the race.

Contest GP Austria: win a by Max Verstappen signed Red Bull Racing 2025 cap!

Results qualifying Austria:

posdriverteamq1q2q3
1Lando NorrisNORMcLaren1:04.6721:04.4101:03.971
2Charles LeclercLECFerrari1:05.1971:04.7341:04.492
3Oscar PiastriPIAMcLaren1:04.9661:04.5561:04.554
4Lewis HamiltonHAMFerrari1:05.1151:04.8961:04.582
5George RussellRUSMercedes1:05.1891:04.8601:04.763
6Liam LawsonLAWRacing Bulls1:05.0171:05.0411:04.926
7Max VerstappenVERRed Bull Racing1:05.1061:04.8361:04.929
8Gabriel BortoletoBORKick Sauber1:05.1231:04.8461:05.132
9Kimi AntonelliANTMercedes1:05.1781:05.0521:05.276
10Pierre GaslyGASAlpine1:05.0541:04.8461:05.649
11Fernando AlonsoALOAston Martin1:05.1971:05.128
12Alexander AlbonALBWilliams1:05.1431:05.205
13Isack HadjarHADRacing Bulls1:05.0631:05.226
14Franco ColapintoCOLAlpine1:05.2781:05.288
15Oliver BearmanBEAHaas1:05.2181:05.312
16Lance StrollSTRAston Martin1:05.329
17Esteban OconOCOHaas1:05.364
18Yuki TsunodaTSURed Bull Racing1:05.369
19Carlos SainzSAIWilliams1:05.582
20Nico HulkenbergHULKick Sauber1:05.606