Valtteri Bottas has taken his second career pole position after setting the fastest lap in qualifying around the Red Bull Ring. The Finn looked strong throughout the three sessions and ultimately outpaced teammate Lewis Hamilton and both Ferrari's of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

"It feels good," he said after the session. "I really enjoy driving here. I enjoyed it today the car was getting better and better as the grip was coming. A decent lap at the end, it wasn't perfect, but it was enough."

Meanwhile, Vettel was happy with his result: "Not quick enough!," he laughed. "I was very happy. The car was really good. I was hoping for the last run but it was a bit of an anti-climax with the yellow flags. It's a great track, the car has been phenomenal. I'm looking forward to tomorrow, it should be a good race."

P8 for championship chasing Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton will start from P8 after the Brit set the third fastest time. However, a five-place grid penalty means that he will drop down the order at the start of tomorrow's race. Alongside Bottas on the front row will be Sebastian Vettel who looks to extend his championship lead.

The second row will see Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo has out-qualified teammate Max Verstappen for the first time since Spain of this year. There wasn't much between them, however, as the Aussie was ahead by around a tenth of a second.

Romain Grosjean set a fantastic lap to start in P7, but his session was somewhat soured as he was forced to stop on the track in the dying stages of Q3. Nevertheless, it will be a third row start for the Frenchman on Sunday. The two Force India were eighth and ninth with Sergio Perez once again out-qualifying his younger teammate. Completing the top ten was Carlos Sainz, who claims Toro Rosso's 100th top ten start.

Full qualifying report

Q1

The teams of Haas and Sauber looked to get out early and set some laps to get into a rhythm. The number eight car of Romain Grosjean went to P1, going faster than the two Sauber's that had set laps just before him. 

The Ferrari's of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen then emerged, both equipped with the super soft tyre, one compound softer than the ultra soft. Magnussen lept to the top of the timesheets with a 1:06.0, toppling the time of teammate Grosjean.

Vettel's initial lap on the super soft tyre put him in P3 behind the two Haas cars. Kimi Raikkonen went faster than his teammate, climbing into P2 with a 1:06.1. Romain Grosjean then had a scary moment at Turn 6 when the rear of his car snapped, sending him across the gravel. The Frenchman found the escape road and was able to continue.

There was more trouble for Haas as the rear suspension on Magnussen's car broke. The Dane ran the car over the controversial kerbs at Turn 1 which sent vibrations through the system. Magnussen was forced to ease his way back to the garage, the front of his car lifting from the surface of the track.

Lewis Hamilton then set his lap, a 1:05.2, before he went two-tenths quicker a lap later. The McLaren's set their laps and looked on the bubble to make it into the second qualifying session. On the super soft tyre, Bottas went P3 before Carlos Sainz set a blistering lap to get himself inside the top five with a 1:05.6.

Drivers out in Q1: Palmer, Massa, Stroll, Ericsson & Wehrlein 

Looks like suspension problems for MAG as he temporarily drives around Spielberg on three wheels ?___Escaped_link_6622ed321d64e___ ?? ___Escaped_link_6622ed321d650___ pic.twitter.com/bcPUgD6qN0

— Formula 1 (@F1) ___Escaped_link_6622ed321d652___

Q2

Title rivals Hamilton and Vettel were the first men out on track as Q2 got underway, and it was the Mercedes that set the initial pace as Hamilton became the first man to break the 1:04 barrier.

His team-mate Bottas followed him across to take second, and although Vettel would strike back and split the Silver Arrows, the Finn's second run put him at the top of the timesheets, into mid-1:04 territory. Meanwhile, Romain Grosjean slotted into fifth behind the Ferrari duo as the rest of the Q2 contenders started to come into play.

Among these were the Red Bulls, with Ricciardo being the first one to set a time. It was only good enough for sixth, however, and the Australian sensed danger - he would have to run again. His team-mate Verstappen fared much better, taking fourth ahead of Raikkonen as Alonso broke into the top ten with his McLaren.

This was all the more impressive in light of his earlier change to a less powerful Honda engine, and he slotted into the pack just ahead of Vandoorne's sister car, equipped with an upgraded power unit.

Looking to improve, Ricciardo crosses the line again, but is only faster by a tenth, sitting in seventh. A brief quiet period ensued after this, but with four minutes to go the silence in the Styrian mountains was broken as Grosjean ventured back out onto the track.

He attempted to go quicker, but his push led to a mistake as he ran wide at the final turn on his timed lap. He remained sixth as the clock ticked down and the circuit got busier. In the final minute, Esteban Ocon frantically tried to escape the dropzone in the Force India, succeeding as he just snatched tenth from Nico Hulkenberg.

Alonso was unable to hold onto his position and ended up twelfth, still ahead of his team-mate, whilst Vettel had jumped to second at the top. He split Bottas in provisional pole and Hamilton in third, and they, in turn, led Verstappen, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Grosjean, Perez, Sainz and Ocon into Q3.

Drivers out in Q2: Hulkenberg, Alonso, Vandoorne, Kvyat & Magnussen

BREAKING: ELIMINATED, Q2

11 HUL
12 ALO ?
13 VAN
14 KVY
15 MAG (did not set time)___Escaped_link_6622ed321d653___ ?? ___Escaped_link_6622ed321d654___ pic.twitter.com/MIhVnj8NaG

— Formula 1 (@F1) ___Escaped_link_6622ed321d656___

Q3

With a minute left to run before the third part of qualifying got underway, Verstappen drove to the end of the pitlane. The Dutchman had three fresh sets of ultra soft compounds and would use them on in order to try and challenge the leaders.

The top three consisted of Bottas, Vettel and Hamilton after the first runs. On Verstappen's first lap, he made a mistake at Turn 3, before making another on the very next lap at Turn 1. He returned to the pits to bolt on his final set of ultra soft tyres.

On Hamilton's first timed lap of his second run, he made a big mistake at Turn 1, running very wide and get very sideways. Further on in the track, the Brit couldn't get his car hooked into Turn 4 and was forced to abandon the lap.

The order would not change, as Romain Grosjean stopped out on the track after setting a blistering lap to go P7. Yellow flags were brought out, bringing an end to the session with 30 seconds to go. Verstappen's last lap also ended in a mistake, this one much bigger than the rest.

The 19-year-old lost the rear of his car at Turn 7 a very high speed and was sent shooting across the gravel. He avoided the wall and returned to his garage, no doubt frustrated with his series of mistakes. 

? TOP TEN: END OF QUALIFYING ?

1 BOT
2 VET
3 HAM
4 RAI
5 RIC
6 VER ? (YELLOW FLAG)
7 GRO
8 PER
9 OCO
10 SAI#AustrianGP ?? #Quali pic.twitter.com/BPJ6XLwHP0

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 8, 2017

Fergal Walsh and Mason Hawker 

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