Austria – Qualifying: Massa on pole for a 100% Williams front row

The sky remains overcast before the start of this qualifying session for the Austrian Grand Prix. The temperature is 17 degrees in the air with the track at 32 degrees.

Q1: Daniil Kvyat is the first to start in this session. The Russian driver had put in a very good performance during Free Practice 3. Also note that Jenson Button is indeed participating despite his issues this morning. Vergne sets the first reference time at 1:11.886. The Frenchman is beaten a few minutes later by his teammate. The Toro Rosso team can aim for a good overall result this afternoon.

Lewis Hamilton comes and puts everyone in agreement 10 minutes before the end of this first part of the session. 1:09.762 for the Briton, nine tenths better than Fernando Alonso, in second place. Nico Rosberg follows, placing three good tenths behind his teammate.

On the track, Jenson Button complains about being obstructed by a Caterham at the end of the lap. The McLaren driver is 16th and therefore in danger. The 2009 world champion gains a bit of security on the following lap by moving up to 12th position.

Similar to Marcus Ericsson, Fernando Alonso goes a bit wide at turn number 8. A corner where overdoing it can result in having your lap time canceled by the FIA stewards if all four wheels cross the white line to the left.

Jules Bianchi is 16th with 5 minutes remaining in this Q1, but he is knocked out by Romain Grosjean, who is surprisingly in 7th place driving a Lotus that has struggled since the beginning of the weekend.

Eliminated in Q1: Sutil, Gutiérrez, Bianchi, Chilton, Kobayashi and Ericsson.

Q2: Off we go again with the 16 fastest drivers from Q1. Nico Hülkenberg crosses the line in 1:09.828, kicking off the session. Sergio Pérez slots in right behind his teammate. Kevin Magnussen improves the best time to 1:09.524, while for Alonso and Button, this first attempt is aborted with times over four seconds off the provisional leader.

Next are the Williams at the front of the pack. Bottas ahead of Massa, but the Mercedes have yet to set a time in this second part of qualifying. This is now done with Hamilton at 1:09.092, just four thousandths better than Bottas. Nico Rosberg breaks the 1 minute 9 barrier with a time of 1:08.974.

Vettel improves his time but doesn’t do better than 12th at the wheel of a lackluster Red Bull here. There are 5 minutes left, and they go back to the pits to put on new tires. This allows Nico Hülkenberg to get back into the Top 10. Same for Räikkönen, but the Finn remains in danger with the ninth fastest time.

Vettel goes for one last flying lap in hopes of making it into the final batch to participate in Q3. The four-time world champion crosses the line and does no better than 12th. He will once again be outpaced by Daniel Ricciardo, who placed 9th in Q2.

Eliminated in Q2: Pérez, Button, Vettel, Maldonado, Vergne, and Grosjean.

Q3: Only ten drivers remain in contention in this qualifying session, the eighth of the 2014 season. At Mercedes, they wait patiently in the pits as the lights turn green. Daniel Ricciardo, however, wastes no time and immediately takes to the track.

Bottas opens fire with a 1:08.846. Fernando Alonso is four-tenths as he crosses the line. Kevin Magnussen completes this initial Top 3. Lewis Hamilton is also on a fast lap. The Mercedes driver is faster in the first two sectors but goes slightly wide in turn number 8, placing him 4th at four-tenths. The time will not be validated as Hamilton crossed the white line on the exit of curve number 8. Nico Rosberg crosses the line in turn and also fails to beat Bottas, who maintains the advantage by 98 thousandths.

There are four minutes left for everyone to try to improve their position on the starting grid. Bottas heads out to attack the clock and has a small scare at the end of sector two. Hamilton also makes a mistake and won’t be able to cross the line before the end of the session, so he will start last in this Top 10 while Massa takes provisional pole. Nico Rosberg returns to the pits, and it’s Williams who secures the front row of this Austrian Grand Prix. It’s the 16th pole of the Paulista’s career!

Austrian Grand Prix 2014 Qualifying Standings