Drama at the Austrian GP: Verstappen Flounders as Red Bull Suffers Shock dis… read more
Qualifying for the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix delivered a whirlwind of drama and surprise exits, especially for Red Bull Racing. While Max Verstappen made it through the early sessions, his performance was far from dominant, and his teammate Yuki Tsunoda suffered yet another disappointing outing in what has been a frustrating season.
The qualifying session kicked off later than scheduled due to delays caused by a dramatic Formula 2 sprint race earlier in the day. The F2 race had to be red-flagged for a significant amount of time following a frightening accident, requiring a full track clean-up. As the F1 session finally got underway, further interruptions followed, including a brief red flag in Q2 caused by a fire on the grass near the circuit, which added another twist to an already unpredictable day.
McLaren came out strong in the opening stages, with Lando Norris setting the pace and emerging as the fastest driver in Q1. His teammate, Oscar Piastri, showed competitive form as well but lost out slightly due to a minor error, giving Norris the edge. Their performance made it clear that McLaren were the team to beat during the early phase of qualifying.
In contrast, Red Bull’s hopes took a significant hit. Yuki Tsunoda was eliminated in Q1 after qualifying only 18th. His poor run of results continues to cast doubt on his long-term future with the team. Even more embarrassing for Red Bull was the fact that Verstappen, despite making it to Q3, was outpaced by both Racing Bulls drivers during the early session. It’s a worrying sign for the team, especially at their home race.
Elsewhere on the grid, there were some standout performances. Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto impressed everyone by not only making it into Q2 with a strong eighth-place time in Q1 but also pushing through to Q3 with the fifth-fastest lap in Q2. This performance was in stark contrast to his teammate Nico Hulkenberg, who ended up last overall, qualifying 20th.
Several other big names failed to make it past Q2. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both missed out, with Alonso placing 11th and Stroll being knocked out as early as Q1 in 16th. Williams drivers also struggled, with Alex Albon (12th) and Carlos Sainz (19th) failing to make an impact. Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman also couldn’t advance past Q2, placing 14th and 15th respectively.
The Austrian Grand Prix qualifying format followed the usual structure: Q1 eliminated the bottom five drivers, Q2 removed another five, and Q3 served as a final shootout for the top 10 grid spots. With a mix of delays, underperformances, and surprise breakthroughs, Saturday’s session sets up what promises to be an unpredictable and exciting race day on Sunday.
For Red Bull, especially at their home track, the result will be a bitter pill to swallow. Verstappen’s lack of dominance and Tsunoda’s continued slump raise serious questions as the pressure ramps up in the 2025 title race.
