Lewis Hamilton takes pole for Austrian GP over Nico Rosberg

Rosberg did qualify in second behind Lewis Hamilton but a gearbox change following a crash in practice ensured he was handed a five-place penalty and will instead start from seventh at the Red Bull Ring.

Taking advantage of Rosberg’s misfortunes was Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg who was one of the first to gamble on a tire change during the final session, a gamble that earned him the third quickest time and a spot on the front row of the grid.

Rosberg has a 24-point lead in the drivers’ championship on Hamilton, who is seeking to reduce the gap after eight of this year’s 21 races.

The final phase of qualifying took place on a drying track, with the leaderboard constantly changing and some surprising names at the top at times.

“I was chipping away where I was losing time, and eventually I finally got into the position to go for pole and then the rain came”, Hamilton said after securing his fifth pole of the season and the 54th of his career. The track was surprisingly dry, maybe drier than I expected, with hindsight I should have taken more risks. “Not many people agreed with me yesterday but I think they could find out for themselves”.

“I mean it’s going to be a struggle to get a lot of laps on it. The strategy will be interesting tomorrow”.

Briton Jenson Button timed his intervention to perfection also to take fifth place for McLaren Honda ahead of Finn Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari.

Daniil Kvyat, meanwhile, crashed i Qualifying One for Toro Rosso as he has lost control at the final corner before skidding across the gravel trap and into the barrier. The later you crossed the line, the better it was.

But a cautious Hamilton added: “I am only trying to think about my job”.

“The idea is good because they definitely don’t want us running wide and using the outside of the circuit, but perhaps another solution is going to be needed”.

Rain is also forecast for qualifying on Saturday so the second practice may have been particularly useful to the teams. We got out on the intermediates and started with a pretty good pace and I was happy, but I knew it was going to dry by the end of the session and the slick tyres were going to be better. “I’ll make the best of it anyways and try to get a good race from there”.

Red Bull F1’s Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen will start 5th and 8th on the grid in the Austrian Grand Prix after rivals received penalties.