Starting Grid 2026 Austrian Formula 1 Grand Prix
Event: Austrian Formula 1 Grand Prix
Track: Red Bull Ring
Warm-up lap starts at: 15:00 Local | 15:00 CET | 14:00 UK | 06:00 LA | 22:00 Tokyo
George Russell will start Sunday’s 39th Austrian grand prix from pole position after turning Mercedes’ dominant Ring weekend into a dramatic qualifying prize. Kimi Antonelli had set the tone by topping both Friday sessions, Russell hit back in FP3, and the Briton then delivered when it mattered with a superb 1m06.113s lap to beat Charles Leclerc to pole. Lewis Hamilton starts third, with Antonelli fourth after abandoning his final Q3 run following Max Verstappen’s crash.
The Red Bull Ring may be only 4.326 km long, but it rarely gives drivers an easy afternoon. Its 10-corner, clockwise layout mixes heavy braking, uphill traction demands, aggressive kerbs and fast final corners, with 65 metres of elevation change making Spielberg far more demanding than the lap time suggests. Pole starts on the left-hand side, and with three drs zones plus strong overtaking potential, track position matters, but it does not guarantee comfort.
History still favours Russell: pole has produced the winner in 52% of recent Austrian Grands Prix on this layout. But this grid has danger everywhere. Ferrari has both cars inside the top three, Antonelli has looked rapid all weekend, McLaren starts close enough to profit from any chaos, and Verstappen begins fifth at Red Bull’s home race after crashing out in Q3. With scorching temperatures, a relatively short 20-second pit-lane loss and Pirelli’s second-softest tyre range in play, Sunday’s 71-lap race is unlikely to be a simple pole-to-win cruise.
Starting Grid 2026 Austrian GP
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Lap Time | Pole gap |
| 1 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:06,113 | |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:06,349 | +0,236s |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:06,408 | +0,295s |
| 4 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:06,414 | +0,301s |
| 5 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:06,475 | +0,362s |
| 6 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:06,502 | +0,389s |
| 7 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:06,511 | +0,398s |
| 8 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 1:06,632 | +0,519s |
| 9 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:06,955 | +0,842s |
| 10 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:07,007 | +0,894s |
| 11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:07,223 | +1,110s |
| 12 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1:07,293 | +1,180s |
| 13 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1:07,523 | +1,410s |
| 14 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Audi | 1:07,611 | +1,498s |
| 15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 1:07,817 | +1,704s |
| 16 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:07,894 | +1,781s |
| 17 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:08,252 | +2,139s |
| 18 | 23 | Alex Albon | Williams | 1:08,509 | +2,396s |
| 19 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Cadillac | 1:08,945 | +2,832s |
| 20 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 1:09,030 | +2,917s |
| 21 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:09,942 | +3,829s |
| 22 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:10,363 | +4,250s |
Check out our 2026 Austrian F1 Grand Prix preview.
