Bottas sets lap record in Austria, Grosjean in form

Poleman in Austria last year, Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) happened again on Saturday in the hills of Styria. The Finn set a new track record during his very last attempt in Q3.

On his right, the Mercedes driver will find another Silver Arrow, in this case that of Lewis Hamilton. The Briton never worried Valtteri Bottas during the final of this session, but managed to keep the upper hand over both Ferrari.

The two red cars will monopolize the second row. Sebastian Vettel, seventh after his first timed lap, caught up well and was ahead of his colleague Kimi Räikkönen.

The nice surprise of the session comes from Romain Grosjean (Haas). The Frenchman, a time credited with the fourth fastest time, still got in between the Red Bull in sixth place. Even better, the former Lotus driver dominated his teammate Kevin Magnussen throughout the session.

The team Renault a took its two drivers to Q3 and will be able to aim for the points on Sunday with Carlos Sainz Jr and Nico Hulkenberg who bring up the rear of the Top 10. The latter is ahead of two French people, Esteban Ocon (Force India) and Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso), who narrowly missed access to Q3.

Charles Leclerc (Sauber), 13th in practice, will be penalized five places on the grid for an unauthorized gearbox change. He will still start in front of his teammate Marcus Ericsson, who finished last in qualifying.

2018 Austrian GP qualifying standings: