Live: Piastri starts seventh in Austria as Mercedes and Ferrari head the field

live F1 live Austrian Grand Prix: Oscar Piastri starts seventh, Mercedes, Ferrari at the front Oscar Piastri starts tonight's Austrian Grand Prix from seventh on the grid, as Mercedes and Ferrari are at the head of the field. George Russell is on pole for Mercedes, with Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton second and third. Drivers' championship leader Kimi Antonelli is fourth, hoping to bounce back after a mechanical failure cost him valuable points last time out. Follow all the action of the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix on the live blog below. Submit a comment or question Live updates Sun 28 Jun 2026 at 9:39pm STARTING GRID: Austrian Grand Prix New: Filters Choose what information you see below by using filters Sun 28 Jun 2026 at 9:50pm It's going to be a hot race in Austria We are in for a hot race today. The forecast will be for a top of 34 degrees Celcius at the Red Bull Ring today. A two-stop strategy will almost certainly be used (more on that later). Ferrari's Charles Leclerc is starting on the front row next to Mercedes pole sitter George Russell. Leclerc says tyre management will be key, and he hopes to replicate teammate Lewis Hamilton's last start win. It's going to be a tight race and a hot race. I think tyre management will be a big thing today. Happy to be starting on the front row and hoping we can reproduce what Lewis (Hamilton) did two weeks ago. Sun 28 Jun 2026 at 9:45pm Pole sitter George Russell expecting 'a big fight' in Austria Mercedes driver George Russell will start tonight's Austrian Grand Prix from pole position. It has been an interesting weekend at the Red Bull Ring with Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull all showing moments of speed. Russell believes there are several drivers who can contest the win tonight. Feeling very good going into the race today. I think there is going to be a big fight from a number of cars around us. The Ferraris were super fast last race, McLarens are looking strong, Max (Verstappen) was looking strong as well. Key Event Sun 28 Jun 2026 at 9:40pm Relive the action from qualifying last night — reporting by Reuters Briton George Russell put Mercedes on pole position again as Saturday's qualifying for Formula One's Austrian Grand Prix came to a chaotic close, with Max Verstappen crashing out during his final flying lap. Russell's late dash for pole paid off as he left Ferrari's Charles Leclerc behind by 0.236 seconds. Leclerc's teammate Lewis Hamilton, who won the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix two weeks ago, was the third fastest. Oscar Piastri qualified seventh for Sunday's race. Russell came under investigation for a potential double-yellow flag violation after Verstappen's crash but the investigation was later called off. "I saw the yellow, I had a big lift into the corner… it was a single yellow and should be okay," said Russell, who continued Mercedes's streak of securing pole position for the eighth race in a row. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli took fourth place on Sunday's grid after aborting his final lap following Verstappen's crash. "I don't know why but I thought it was a double yellow, so I aborted completely… I shouldn't have done that. That was my mistake," the 19-year-old Italian, who has won five of the seven races so far, told Sky Sports. Four-time champion Verstappen was almost eliminated from the second qualifying session, as 11th-placed Pierre Gasly finished just 0.460 behind him. But the Red Bull driver's final run in the last qualifying session ended when he slid across the gravel and hit the wall at turn nine. He emerged from his car apparently unharmed. "It's a shame as realistically we could have been (third)," Verstappen told Sky Sports. "There are still some things we want to understand from the package, some that worked well and some not so well, and work from there." Verstappen, who is seventh in the championship, took fifth place on the grid thanks to an earlier lap time. Antonelli sits 41 points ahead of Hamilton in the standings going into Sunday's race. Seven-time champion Hamilton said: "To have the two Ferraris in second and third is fantastic and a reflection of the amazing work back at the factory… I'm just really proud of everybody." Key Event Sun 28 Jun 2026 at 9:35pm What time does the F1 Austrian Grand Prix begin? Here is the start time in your state or territory: - 11pm AEST: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, ACT, Tasmania - 10:30pm ACST: South Australia, Northern Territory - 9pm AWST: Western Australia Key Event Sun 28 Jun 2026 at 9:30pm Welcome to the ABC Sport F1 live blog Good evening, Australia. Welcome back to ABC Sport's live digital coverage of the 2026 Formula 1 championship season. Tonight, we are racing at the Red Bull Ring for round eight of 22: the Austrian Grand Prix. George Russell will start tonight's race on pole, while Oscar Piastri is seventh on the grid. Join me throughout the night and be part of the conversation by tapping on the comment section.