Max Verstappen claimed pole position for the Austrian GP after edging out surprise closest challenger Lando Norris in a thrilling climax to qualifying, with Mercedes forced to settle for fourth and fifth.
Much like last weekend at Red Bull's home track, Verstappen was quickest right through the hour-long session but very nearly lost out on pole on the last lap of Q3 as the in-form McLaren driver Norris came charging.
Picking up a tow from Verstappen, who didn't improve on his lap, Norris eventually missed out on his first F1 pole by just 0.048s - with his incredible performance sealing McLaren's first front row since 2012.
Verstappen was critical of his team for sending him out first at the end of Q3, but his 1:03.720 was just enough for his third consecutive pole.
"It's one of the best laps I've done I think," said Norris, who was third on the grid last week, while Verstappen stated: "I think Q3 was pretty bad. I'm of course happy to be first but not the way we got it."
