Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes will start the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Styria, Austria from pole position after qualifying in first on Saturday. Hamilton, who trails teammate Nico Rosberg in the Driver’s Championship by 24 points, will start six spots ahead of said teammate on Sunday.
Austrian Grand Prix 2016: Starting grid and lineup for Formula 1 race
Will Hamilton close the championship points gap to Rosberg further? Can Hulkenberg and Button remain in second and third? Find out on Sunday at the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.
The race is set for 8 a.m. ET and will be broadcast on CNBC, with a live stream available in the US via NBC Sports.
Rosberg qualified half a second slower than Hamilton but received a five-place grid penalty due to a change in gearbox. That change was required after Rosberg crashed out in the final practice session early on Saturday, and he almost didn’t make it to qualifying.
Engineers from Hamilton’s side of the Mercedes garage were called in to get Rosberg’s car finished and ready for qualifying.
“It was an unbelievable job from everybody,” Rosberg said. “Even Lewis’ mechanics came over to my car to try and get it out in time, so that was a huge team effort.”
On Sunday, Rosberg will start from seventh place on the grid after qualifying in second.
Nico Hulkenberg, who qualified in third place, will start in the front row next to Hamilton. Hulkenberg was under investigation by the stewards for speeding under the yellow caution flags, but he escaped a penalty. There was some controversy, as Hulkenberg set a fastest sector time in the sector with the flags being waved.
“Although the driver went ‘green’ in the sector where the double yellow flags were displayed, the telemetry clearly demonstrated that he had decelerated on approaching the flag point and that his speed reduced in the yellow flag sector,” race stewards said in a statement after the qualifying session.
Manor driver Rio Haryanto, Sauber driver Felipe Nasr and Renault driver Jolyon Palmer did not escape the same thing, and all three were served three-place penalties. Palmer will start in 20th, with Haryanto and Nasr occupying the back row in that order.
Finally, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was also given a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change just like Rosberg. Vettel qualified in fourth but will start the race from ninth. Other than the Force India of Hulkenberg on the front row and the battle of the Mercedes drivers, the big story is the McLaren of Jenson Button starting from third place.
McLaren Honda have had a rough go of it the past two seasons. With Honda re-entering the fray as an engine provider, the McLarens, driven by veterans Button and Fernando Alonso, have lagged behind the rest of the pack.
But the McLarens have flirted with competing with the rest of the pack in recent races, and with bad weather and a chaotic qualifying session, Button’s McLaren qualified at a season-best fifth and will start third thanks to the penalties of those above him.
Kimi Raikkonen moved up to fourth due to the penalties, with Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull and Valtteri Bottas of Williams rounding out the top three rows. Max Verstappen and Felipe Massa also made it into the top 10 in the grid. Esteban Gutierrez and Romain Grosjean of the American-owned Haas F1 Team just missed out on the third qualifying session, Gutierrez starting from 11th and Grosjean from 13th, with the Manor of Pascal Wehrlein separating them.
Below is the full starting grid for Sunday’s race.
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