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Important SN update for SouthlandLawson qualifies fastest of the Red Bull stable for Austrian Grand Prix
Reuters • June 29th, 2025 7:12 am
Photo: Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Liam Lawson has qualified for the Austrian Grand Prix as the fastest of the Red Bull stable on a circuit that bears the same name, Red Bull Ring, to be sixth on the grid.
The Kiwi driver's time of 1:04.926 was .003 seconds faster than world champion Max Verstappen, who lines up seventh, while Lawson's fellow Racing Bulls team Isack Hadjar is 13th.
Yuki Tsunoda, the driver who famously swapped places with Lawson from the junior team up to Red Bull Racing after just two races, will be 18th after failing to get out of Q1 in Spielberg.
“It feels like it’s been a long time! It’s really cool to have a good Quali," Lawson said after completing his best qualifying session of the 2025 season.
“We see everything behind the scenes and in the last couple of races everything’s felt really good, honestly. I’ve felt really good. We’ve done a lot of work on the car, and on my side as well, just to make it more comfortable for me.
“It’s been there, it just hasn’t shown, so it’s nice to show it today, but obviously tomorrow is also the important day.”
Photo: Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
It has been a challenging full-time campaign for Lawson, who only has one points finish so far in 2025, thanks to his outstanding teamwork with Hadjar in Monaco - but the Pukekohe man is continuing to build on from last month's eighth placing.
"The last couple of weekends the pace has been there through practice – Canada was strong, Barcelona was strong, and just in Quali it wasn’t.
“This weekend, of all the weekends to get it across the line, it’s been cool because it’s so close. It puts pressure on us behind the wheel to execute, and same on the team.
“With the car we’ve been fine-tuning all weekend and we don’t have time to miss anything, because everybody else is chasing as well. It’s cool to get it across the line!”
Norris bounces back to leave Piastri in his slipstream
A dominant Norris has delivered the perfect response to his Montreal horror show by securing an emphatic pole position for Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.
Australia's Piastri, the world championship leader, was forced to settle for third place, behind his McLaren teammate and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, admitting afterwards: "Sometimes it's just not your day."
Norris's world championship bid was dealt a major setback a fortnight ago when he ran into the back of Piastri.
But the British driver has been in excellent form at the Red Bull Ring, topping all of the practice sessions he has competed in, before landing the 12th pole of his career.
Norris's margin over Leclerc was a huge 0.521 seconds - the biggest of the year so far at the shortest track on the calendar.
Piastri, who leads Norris by 22 points in the title standings, was 0.583 sec behind his team-mate with Lewis Hamilton fourth.
Piastri was unable to complete his final lap in Q3 after Alpine's Pierre Gasly spun ahead of him, causing a yellow flag which meant drivers behind had to slow down.
"Lando's been very quick all weekend so it would have been a tough challenge, but I think we easily had enough pace in the car this weekend to be on the front row," Piastri said.
"Always a shame when you don't even get the chance, but we can still have a good race from there. Sometimes it's just not your day."
Oscar Piastri walks past his car after claiming third place in qualifying for the Austrian GP | Photo: EPA
Norris admitted he made a fool of himself when he collided with Piastri in Montreal, and was warned of "tough conversations" by McLaren team principal Andrea Stella.
However he has been in a class of one so far here, and he will start the 11th round of this 24-race season as the favourite to claim a win which could serve as a springboard to get his title charge back on track a week out from his home event at Silverstone.
Norris' first lap in Q3 placed him two tenths faster than anyone else, and he then pulled out more than half-a-second with his next lap.
"It was a good lap, that's for sure," said Norris. "I feel like my first lap in Q3 was good but I knew I could get more time and I did exactly that. I did what I planned to do and when I do that and it goes right it is usually very good."
After landing his first win of the season last time out in Canada, George Russell ended up in fifth, but Max Verstappen could manage only seventh after he complained that his Red Bull was "undriveable".
Verstappen is 43 points off the championship pace and faces the prospect of losing further ground following a disappointing qualifying session at a venue he has so often ruled.
"The car is completely undriveable," he said over the radio after finishing nearly a second behind Norris. "It is even worse than before. I don't even know what to say."
Austria Grand Prix starting grid
1: Lando Norris, 2: Charles Leclerc, 3: Oscar Piastri, 4: Lewis Hamilton; 5, George Russell; 6: Liam Lawson, 7: Max Verstappen, 8: Gabriel Bortoleto, 9: Kimi Antonelli, 10: Pierra Gasly, 11: Fernando Alonso, 12: Alex Albon, 13: Isack Hadjar, 14: Franco Colapinto, 15: Oliver Bearman, 16: Lance Stroll, 17: Esteban Ocon, 18: Yuki Tsunoda, 19: Carlos Sainz, 20: Nico Hülkenberg.
- additional reporting by Sport Nation.
