Austrian Grand Prix: Qualifying Facts and Stats

Charles Leclerc secured his second career pole position in a nail-biting qualifying session in Austria which will see three different constructors start in the top three positions for the first time in 2019. Here are some other notable statistics from Saturday at the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix.

• Leclerc posted a new lap record en-route to Ferrari’s first pole in Spielberg since Michael Schumacher in 2003. Early qualifying form suggested they were on course for a front row lockout until mechanical problems blighted Sebastian Vettel. The German will start from outside the top six for the second consecutive race but could struggle having only secured one podium in his Ferrari career when he has started outside the first three rows.

• Mercedes couldn’t match the Ferrari pace on Saturday, with Lewis Hamilton admitting that his team were not able to keep up with pole-sitter Leclerc. But the Briton did outqualify team mate Valtteri Bottas for the fourth race in a row - even if he then got a penalty afterwards.

• Red Bull have been closer to the pace-setters this weekend, with Max Verstappen grabbing third in qualifying, which became second on the grid for tomorrow’s race once Hamilton's penalty was applied. Not only is it the Dutchman’s best starting slot in Austria (after winning from fourth last year), it's his best since Mexico last year, when he won from P2 on the grid.

• Kevin Magnussen started Saturday with problems in FP3, but finished ahead of his team mate in qualifying for the fourth race in a row. The Dane’s P5 would have been the team’s joint best grid slot but he has a five-place penalty for fitting a new gearbox in between sessions on Saturday.

• Alfa Romeo showed some impressive pace, with both cars making the final Q3 showdown for the second time in 2019. The pair made the top 10 in Baku before both were hit with grid penalties. On that occasion rookie Antonio Giovanazzi was slightly faster, but Raikkonen gets the plaudits this weekend with the Finn’s P8 one place higher than his Italian team mate.

• McLaren’s upsurge continues as Lando Norris pushed his car into P6, which becomes a personal best fourth on the grid when penalities are applied to Hamilton and Magnussen ahead of him. The rookie has now finished in the top eight in qualifying for the third consecutive race weekend.

• Daniel Ricciardo failed to reach the top 10 shootout for the first time since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as he wrestled his Renault to P14. Team mate Nico Hulkenberg was two-tenths faster in Austria to beat Ricciardo in qualifying for the first time since Australia.

• Racing Point struggled as both cars were eliminated after the first part of qualifying. Sergio Perez has now failed to progress from the opening session in three of the last four race weekends, while Lance Stroll extends his run of Q1 eliminations to 13 after muscling his car to 17th.