Qualifying

Hello and welcome to ESPN's coverage of qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.

It's still overcast after this morning's rain in FP3, but there's only a few drops of rain forecast in the time until qualifying. A rain storm in qualifying would really spice things up - though Ferrari looks very close to Mercedes in the dry.

The track is now drying in places. The Porsche race earlier helped in that regard. The air temp is currently 11 degrees, track temp 12.

All eyes on Ferrari this afternoon but a lot happening elsewhere. Fascinating to see where the Mercedes customers end up today, Williams should be best of the chasing pack but Lotus and Force India have shown some real good pace this weekend.

Red Bull and McLaren will have been focusing on race trim so far this weekend with such hefty penalties to be served. Both teams thought tactically about things with Silverstone and Budapest to come on the calendar.

These grid penalties proving to be very unpopular.

The track conditions this afternoon will be tricky at the beginning of quali, with the potential for an upset here or there. Personally, I'd like the heavens to open simply because the Toro Rosso rookies were absolutely going for it in the wet this morning.

Five minutes until the start of Q3.

So, can Mercedes make it a whole year's worth of pole positions? It was here last year the last time anyone beat them to P1 on a Saturday.

Some wise words from Alonso's power unit.

My knowledge of the family trees of Honda's power units isn't great, though.

Interesting to think some drivers still haven't (or hadn't) driven an F1 car in the wet before this weekend.

Risk of rain has dropped to 30%, but those clouds are still lingering.

The session goes green and it is the Manors who lead the charge out on track.

The Saubers have the green-striped intermediates on. Track getting drier but a lot of wet patches around, especially on the kerbs.

"On the main straight ... the back straight ... There's some dry patches. Just the corners are a bit wet," reports Verstappen.

Everyone is on the intermediates, actually. But not for long...

"I think it will be slicks," says Sainz.

Verstappen's Toro Rosso wobbles through the middle sector. Perez the latest man to go straight on at Turn 1. That's been common all weekend.

Verstappen puts himself P1 with a 1:21.006. Sainz slots in behind him by eight tenths.

Rosberg and Hamilton slot into P2 and P3 with their first laps. The track is getting quicker and quicker. Raikkonen, meanwhile, backs off from a lap of his own after coming up behind the Lotus of Maldonado, also on a hot lap.

Sainz moves himself into P1 with a 1:20.903. Hamilton and Rosberg switch positions as the Brit crosses two tenths off Sainz's benchmark.

Merhi has gone off into the gravel and he does very well to get himself out of there. He'd gone off the track in the final sector.

Replays show Merhi's Manor swapping ends as he came through Turn 7. Another one shows Rosberg having an adventure across the tarmac at Turn 1. Someone put some gravel there.

Nasr the first man out on dry tyres.

Raikkonen goes P3, 1.227s down on Sainz and ahead of the two Mercedes drivers.

The Toro Rosso boys the quickest out there currently and Sainz goes quickest for a moment, but Vettel has lowered the benchmark to a 1:19.218. Still pretty wet out there.

Onboards showing Nasr trying to find the dry line on those supersoft tyres. His lap times will be being watched up and down the pit lane.

Rosberg goes P1 with a 1:19.039.

"Tyres are suffering quite a lot," Vettel says.

Verstappen now goes P1 again with a 1:18.667. The track getting faster and faster as the heat gets into the tyres.

Nasr goes seventh on the super-soft tyre, but replays suggest he had a wobbly moment coming through the final sector - exactly where Merhi spun off earlier. The Sauber man has just gone purple in the first sector.

Maldonado switches to super-soft. Hulkenberg tells Force India they need to box for slicks.

Williams has gone out on the soft tyre. Massa goes P1 with a 1:17.831.

Hamilton out on the super-soft tyre, as does Rosberg. That'll have an impact tomorrow but a one-stop is looking increasingly likely, hence why Mercedes are taking the risk.

Bottas goes P1 with a 1:17.297. Maldonado splits the Williams drivers in P2.

Massa abandons a quick lap and replays show him having a moment on the entry to Turn 3.

Nasr goes P1, before Maldonado leaps ahead of the Sauber man with a 1:15.385.

Do not adjust your screen. Button goes P1 with a 1:15.239...

Hamilton slots him behind him by a tenth.

Button's lead doesn't last long as Sainz and Verstappen leap ahead, and then Hamilton sets a 1:13.196.

Fascinating session this one, because the track is getting quicker and quicker. Crossing the line before or after another driver could be key if you're in the drop zone, which Vettel currently is...

But Vettel has the super-soft tyres on and is out on a tidy looking lap.

Vettel goes fastest overall by almost seven tenths. Ericsson had briefly gone P1.

Rosberg jumps into P1 now with a 1:11.883 as the clock ticks into the final two minutes.

This isn't the time for any driver to make a mistake. Nasr, Perez, Kvyat, Meri and Stevens in trouble currently.

Alonso hovering, too. Raikkonen on the cusp of elimination currently but on a good lap....

And Raikkonen crosses in ninth. Will that be enough?

Nasr jumps ahead of Raikkonen. Bottas and Ricciardo leap into the top six. Kvyat in big trouble currently and has hit a bit of traffic.

Nasr jumps ahead of Raikkonen. Bottas and Ricciardo leap into the top six. Kvyat in big trouble currently and has hit a bit of traffic.

Button goes P11.. Kimi one place off the drop zone! Chequered flag drops so let's see what happens in these final seconds.

Raikkonen pits and drops into the drop zone! He's out of qualifying! Verstappen improves at the death to push Hulkenberg into the drop zone.

But Hulkenberg improves on his own last lap!

How did Ferrari manage that one? Pressure on Vettel to deliver a stonking lap in Q3 later.

Dropping out of this session - PErez, Button, Raikkonen, Merhi and Stevens.

Marc says: "Love this track, it's like a rollercoaster."

A slippery one, at the moment.

Replays show Hamilton having to jump out of the way of a slow-moving car at Turn 3, which may explain why he finished down in P13. He was only three tenths off elimination at the end.

Button will only drop three places with his grid penalty and, unless I'm mistaken, the remaining 22 places will turn into a drive-through penalty for tomorrow's race.

Q2 starts and Verstappen leads out the early runners.

Apparently Raikkonen said "How the f*** is that possible!" over the radio. Ferrari saying there was nothing wrong with his car. Watch this space.

Maurizio Santamicone says: "There goes the last chance for Raikkonen to have his contract renewed."

Sure that's your real surname, Maurizio?

This session is likely to be a mirror of Q1, with the times getting quicker as it goes on. Again, crossing the line at the end of the sesison could be key.

The Saubers are P1 and P2, but immediately Hulkenberg puts himself into first with a 1:10.207.

Rosberg's first lap sees him slot in behind Verstappen. Just 0.03s covers the top three.

Hamilton can only manage ninth with his first lap. The Merc pair on used super-soft tyres.

Ricciardo climbs up to eighth with a 1:11.425.

Raikkonen speaking to media. Says "I don't know" a few times, seems confused as to how he has ended up out of the first session.

Meanwhile, Rosberg goes P1. Kvyat goes P2, with Hamilton slotting in behind. Rosberg's headline time a 1:09.588.

Alonso has the track all to himself at the moment as he moves up to 10th.

Hulkenberg currently fourth. Seven days ago he was about to start at Le Mans.

The track is getting a little busier now as the clock ticks past five minutes. Vettel one of the men to head out on track. Super-softs from here on out, of course.

Track not completely dry yet though. Still a few patches around.

Hamilton told he's on his race set of tyres, a polite reminder not to ruin them.

Go on that Honda.

Vettel goes P1 with a 1:09.392.

Rosberg immediately crosses 0.083s up on the Ferrari. Hamilton has a messy middle sector and goes third. He's three tenths off his team-mate currently.

Mercedes tells Hamilton he made need another quick lap as the track keeps improving. Times expected to keep falling.

Replays show Ricciardo having a little adventure through the gravel at Turn 3.

Grosjean has a massive wobble and slide through the final corner.

Hulkenberg, the early pacesetter, crosses in fourth with a time that should see him safely through to the next session. Sainz appears to have backed off, meaning one Toro Rosso will drop out of the session.

Both Lotus drivers in the drop zone currently...

Grosjean edges himself into ninth. Maldonado can't escape the drop zone despite improving on his time.

Alonso stays 15th. Kvyat once again out-qualifies Ricciardo, who drops out of this session.

In the drop zone - Maldonado, Ericsson, Sainz, Ricciardo and Alonso.

Nasr and Verstappen have looked handy out there today. Surprised by Sainz.

That's the first time Ricciardo has missed Q2 while driving at Red Bull.

Well then, can Vettel end Mercedes' run in Q3? That the main point of interest but there are lots of unknowns heading into the final session.

Ricciardo looks frustrated as he walks from the Red Bull garage. What a difference a year can make...

Unlike Kvyat, Ricciardo can't serve his whole grid penalty so will have a time drop in the race.

Prediction time then - I'm saying Vettel, Hamilton, Bottas, Rosberg, Hulkenberg, Massa. I'm always an optimist.

The final session goes green and Bottas is the first man out. Rosberg and the impressive Nasr follow.

Krishna says: "Maybe we will see Ricciardo in a Ferrari next year! That is what happened to the frustrated #1 driver of RBR last year!"

Bottas starts the first timed lap of Q3.

Nasr goes purple in the first sector. He's been the star of qualifying so far.

Oliver says: If it's Prediction time I offer you this:

1. Rosberg 2. Vettel 3. Hamilton 4. Hulkenberg 5. Bottas

Nasr goes P1 with a 1:10.573 but is immediately displaced by Rosberg, who does a 1:08.850.

Hamilton still struggling in the middle sector and crosses four tenths down on his team-mate.

Hulkenberg slots behind the Mercedes drivers in third.

Grosjean complaining about brake-by-wire issues.

Bottas moves to within a tenth of Hamilton.

Massa gets even closer, but still not quicker than Hamilton. He's 0.06s down.

Hamilton seems to be struggling with understeer through the middle sector.

He's gone purple in the first sector, though. Vettel starting a flying lap.

Rosberg cuts 0.195s off his time...

But Hamilton had a brilliant lap and takes provisional pole with a 1:08.455.

Not a spectacular lap for Vettel, seven tenths down on Hamilton, but he's got another set of tyres. He'll be happy with that as a banker lap.

Vettel the last man out on track but he's returning to the pits for a quick tyre change and some more fuel. I'd wager most teams will want two runs but the Ferrari man is a little out of sync with the rest.

Approaching the final three minutes now and Massa is back out on track, along with Rosberg, Nasr, Kvyat and Verstappen.

Marc says: "Drops the HAMMER!"

Track position as crucial as getting laps right here, as Hamilton backs off slightly having come out of the pits just behind Bottas.

"Doesn't look like lap one is faster, so lap two looks like the right decision," Merc tells Hamilton, confirming the fact both teams will want to complete two flying laps.

Massa goes fourth and appears to back off, but he's got time to get round and start another before the chequered flag.

Hamilton will have time to complete two flying laps. Vettel is cutting it very fine to do that.

Hamilton has spun at Turn 2, exactly where he went off last year. Rosberg has gone purple in the middle sector...

Vettel crosses in third....

Rosberg goes straight on and into the gravel at the final corner! He was about to take pole position from the world championship.

Replay shows Hamilton's Merc just swapping ends at Turn 1 (not Turn 2 as I said). Seemed he had no temperature in his tyres.

A bit of a damp squib for Ferrari in the end, with Vettel three tenths down.

Replay shows Rosberg getting a bit out of shape and running across the damp kerbs at Turn 8.

"Bit of a strange one there. Nico made a mistake at the final corner," Bonnington tells Hamilton.

Good job from Hulkenberg, who will start sixth.

Rosberg slaps his hands together in frustration as he climbs out of that Mercedes, which is well and truly beaches in the gravel.

Long walk back for Rosberg, who is trudging across the pit straight.

It doesn't matter which one is P1, that's 19 in a row for Mercedes. And a front row lock out with only one Ferrari immediately behind, plus a one-stop looking likely tomorrow, it could be another good afternoon for the world championship.

Vettel and Hamilton laugh and joke together as they look at the timing screen. Their waiting for Rosberg to get back for the traditional top three photograph.

Vettel has a wander down the row of cars in parc ferme and has a glance at some of his rivals' machinery. He's currently behind the Mercedes.

That pole position puts Hamilton level with Vettel on 45. Only Schumacher and Senna have more.

As always, thanks for joining me in this session. We'll be back tomorrow for the race so please do join us again to see if anyone can stop Mercedes in the Austrian hills.


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