2025 F1 Austrian GP: Qualifying Predictions

The first day of the 2025 F1 Austrian GP concluded with the McLaren duo leading the timesheets. After a somewhat disappointing race weekend in Canada, where the lower temperatures compromised the car, the team appears to be back to its usual position at the top.

Unlike quite a few tracks on the F1 calendar, the Red Bull Ring is not the one where the qualifying is everything. You can pull off overtakes, and there are three DRS zones that could be exploited. At the same time, grid position at the start of the race will continue to be critical in F1 without a doubt, and no team would want to start the race in traffic.

We've had two hours of running already in the F1 Austrian GP as the teams smoothly went through their run plans. As we get ready for Saturday's qualifying, what can we expect from the teams? Let's take a look.

#5 The midfield is going to be a cluster

On a 65-second lap, it's all going to come down to how well the driver and the team nail each qualifying lap. While the top 4 teams have shown a propensity to be ahead, the midfield is more or less going to be a cluster. The battles in both Q1 and Q2 are going to be intense, and the pecking orders are going to be anybody's guess for the F1 Austrian GP Qualifying.

#4 Fernando Alonso makes it to Q3

If there's one car that continues to surge, then it is the Aston Martin. At the same time, if there is a driver who has shown a valiant return to form after an early stumble, then it is Fernando Alonso.

The battle in Q1 and Q2 is going to be close, but expect the F1 veteran to make it to Q3.

#3 Lewis Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda would be vulnerable to not making it to Q3

Two drivers, however, who are going to be extremely vulnerable to making it to the top 10 shootout are going to be Lewis Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda. Hamilton has not had a great run at this track for the most part, while Tsunoda appears to be struggling compared to Verstappen and has found it hard to keep up.

The 65-second lap means that the gap is going to be very small between the drivers, and that's exactly where drivers who are not as comfortable as Max struggle.

We might see Yuki and Lewis struggle to reach Q3 in the F1 Austrian GP.

#2 Ferrari and Mercedes are going to be a step behind

Mercedes started the weekend on a strong note with George Russell topping FP1. As the grip has ramped up, the car has started to drop back. Ferrari, on the other hand, has not had a smooth run, but if there's one thing clear, it is the fact that the car has a strong long-run pace for the F1 Austrian GP, but qualifying is going to be a struggle.

For qualifying, we might see the two teams drop back from the top, as Red Bull and McLaren are a step ahead.

#1 Max Verstappen secures pole position for the F1 Austrian GP

The 3 tenths gap in FP2 had fuel load and power modes play a role as McLaren tried to stretch the car a little and see how the drivers feel with a lighter car. For the F1 Austrian GP qualifying, the gap is going to be smaller than what we saw on Friday, and a lot of it is going to come down to those final laps.

It's going to come down to Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri, and the driver that nails that final lap will secure pole position. When it comes to making a pick with these conditions, we're going with the Dutch driver on a track that has been his fortress more often than not.

Edited by Charanjot Singh Kohli