Valtteri Bottas charged to his first pole position of the Formula 1 season in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix on Saturday, heading up a one-two finish for Mercedes as teammate Lewis Hamilton fell two-hundredths of a second shy in the final fight for P1. After starting second at three of the last four races, Bottas was finally able to go one better and grab his first pole position since last year's season finale in Abu Dhabi with a fastest lap of 1m03.130s. Bottas sat on provisional pole by half a second following the first runs in Q3 after Hamilton and Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel both made mistakes, only for the title contenders to close in with their final efforts. Austrian GP - 5 Amazing Austrian Grand Prix Moments Video of Austrian GP - 5 Amazing Austrian Grand Prix Moments Hamilton was just 0.019 seconds shy of Bottas with his final lap in Q3, and while he was unable to beat his teammate, it was nevertheless enough to complete a front row lock-out for Mercedes in Austria. The result marks back-to-back Austrian Grand Prix poles for Bottas, with the Red Bull Ring becoming the first track at which he has claimed multiple pole positions following his success there in 2017. Vettel recovered from a scruffy first lap that left him P7 to finish qualifying third for Ferrari, lapping three-tenths slower than Bottas, with teammate Kimi Raikkonen set to line up alongside him on the grid in fourth place. Tension brewed at Red Bull as the team tried to get Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo to work together and create a slipstream, only for both drivers to vent their frustrations, with Ricciardo claiming there was "no point" in his running. Verstappen was told to simply pass Ricciardo on-track, but refused, saying: "It's discipline." While Verstappen was able to qualify fifth, Ricciardo slipped to seventh in the final classification as the pair was split by Haas' Romain Grosjean in sixth. The Frenchman produced a stunning lap to match Haas' best qualifying result of the season, acting as a boost following his point-less start to the year. Kevin Magnussen took eighth in the sister Haas car, finishing more than half a second clear of Renault drivers Carlos Sainz Jr. and Nico Hulkenberg who completed the top 10. Esteban Ocon led Force India's charge in qualifying to secure 11th on the grid, edging out Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly with his final lap to put his fellow Frenchman P12. Charles Leclerc wound up 13th for Sauber, continuing his record of at least making Q2 that dates back to Baku, but will drop to P18 on the grid due to a penalty for changing his gearbox. Fernando Alonso was left a lowly 14th for McLaren as he paid the price for completing just a single run on the Ultrasoft tyre in Q2, making a mistake on his final hot lap that saw him run wide at the last corner and fail to improve his lap time. Lance Stroll put in one of the surprise performances of qualifying to reach Q2 for the first time since Baku, clinching 15th on the grid after squeezing through Q1 for Williams. While the Canadian finished well off the pace compared to his rivals in the second session, it nevertheless marked a decent breakthrough for the struggling British team at the site of its most recent pole position four years ago. Stroll's late improvement in Q1 bumped Stoffel Vandoorne out at the first hurdle in qualifying as the McLaren driver fell 0.007 seconds shy of a Q2 berth, leaving him 16th and continuing his losing streak on Saturdays against Alonso, who finished three-tenths of a second clear in theo pening session. Sergio Perez was another surprise casualty in Q1 as the short layout in Austria led to traffic as cars bunched together on-track, with the Mexican driver finishing 17th for Force India. Sergey Sirotkin was less than a tenth slower than teammate Stroll, finishing 18th ahead of Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley and Sauber's Marcus Ericsson in last position as a spin for Leclerc at Turn 4 forced a number of drivers to abandon their final efforts in Q1, preventing any late improvements. The Austrian Grand Prix begins at the Red Bull Ring at 3:10pm local time (2:10pm BST) on Sunday.<doc-sep>Valtteri Bottas ahead of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton at the front of the grid; Sebastian Vettel, like Hamilton, recovering from a mistake on his first run and starting on a softer tyre; the Red Bull drivers getting into a spat; and a final grid place drop for Vettel, the Austrian Grand Prix looks to have all the ingredients for fun tomorrow. That's before Romain Grosjean, who has recently been reprising his enfant terrible persona from 2012, put his Haas sixth on the grid between Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo. The Red Bull Ring is a funny little track, nestling between the bumpy old Zeltweg airfield where the race used to be run and the majestic Osterreichring which succeeded it. There are only seven corners, but as both Hamilton and Vettel attested, it’s easy to make mistakes. Having set the pace – Hamilton in yesterday’s practice sessions and Q1, Vettel in this morning final practice and Q2, both found themselves upstaged by Bottas. The Finn is fast approaching Chris Amon levels of bad luck; in the late Sixties and early Seventies the New Zealander lost numerous races due to misfortune and unreliability, and this year Bottas might justly have felt robbed of three potential victories. As he recalled his narrow victory here over Vettel after a super getaway that the FIA judged to be legal but which Vettel rather churlishly insisted was not – coming so soon after his behaviour in Baku that was hard to stomach – Hamilton’s team-mate insisted, “I just need a good clean start, nothing amazing, no need to be a hero in Turn 1 and then go for it." And maybe he looked at Vettel as he said this, remembering how the German spun him out of contention last Sunday at Paul Ricard. Then he added: "I can guarantee I'm more hungry for the win than anyone on the grid now, so I'm ready for it.” F1 2018 grid Show all 30 1 /30 F1 2018 grid F1 2018 grid Mercedes Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Lewis Hamilton Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Valtteri Bottas Getty F1 2018 grid Ferrari Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Sebastian Vettel Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Kimi Raikkonen Getty F1 2018 grid Red Bull Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Daniel Ricciardo Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Max Verstappen Getty F1 2018 grid Force India Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Sergio Perez Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Esteban Ocon Getty F1 2018 grid Williams Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Lance Stroll Getty F1 2018 grid In contention: Daniil Kvyat Robert Kubica Paul Di Resta Getty F1 2018 grid Toro Rosso Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Brendon Hartley Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Pierre Gasly Getty F1 2018 grid Renault Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Nico Hulkenberg Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Carlos Sainz Getty F1 2018 grid Haas Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Kevin Magnussen Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Romain Grosjean Getty F1 2018 grid McLaren Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Fernando Alonso Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Stoffel Vandoorne Getty F1 2018 grid Sauber Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Charles Leclerc Getty F1 2018 grid Confirmed: Marcus Ericsson Getty It would indeed by just were he to win, but Hamilton gave a clear indication that they will be racing one another regardless of their status as team-mates. “Valtteri deserves this,” he insisted, but added: “Obviously if you are on the front row and first, you get a clear view, but if you are second or third or fourth it makes no difference whether it’s a team-mate or a rival ahead of you, you’re still racing.” Both Mercedes drivers have been happy all weekend with upgrades that the team bought here, their biggest thus far in a season in which Ferrari have led development; the package comprised revised sidepods and barge boards to enhance aerodynamics and rear-end stability and thus tyre wear, and complemented the new spec 2.1 engines introduced last weekend. Bottas will start from pole on Sunday (Getty Images) “The initial feeling is they really worked well,” Bottas reported of the changes, “so the team have done a really good job on that. The rear end of the car especially felt really stable.” This afternoon he said that the balance was exceptional too, which helped him to vault ahead of Hamilton and Vettel. "The car felt so good. In the last run I knew there was a tenth to improve from the first run – I managed to find it, and apparently I needed it." Hamilton said in practice that his car was even better than the one in which he won last weekend in France, but cursed the mistake that cost him dear on his first run in Q3. As Bottas lapped in 1m 03.264s, Hamilton left himself a big recovery job to do with 1m 03.797s after getting sideways in turn 1 and messing up Turn 3. Hamilton trailed his teammate (Getty Images) “I wasn’t too happy with that, and Valtteri did a stunning lap,” he admitted. “But I was really happy with the second one. My car was quite good all through qualifying and it was obviously very close between all of us, but then I made that mistake. When you don’t have that first run as a banker you have to scratch on the second one, so it always helps to get the first one in. But my second one was pretty good, and it’s still a 1-2 for the team.” As Bottas found the tenth he needed to keep pole, with a super lap of 1m 03.130s, Hamilton likewise did a great job to slice six-tenths off his previous best with 1m 03.149s, losing out by 0.019s or the equivalent of 1.3 metres over the lap. It was Mercedes’ 175th pole position. Ferrari were left a little breathless. Vettel’s first-run mistake cost him dear and left him momentarily down in seventh place, but he too recovered well as 1m 03.464s lifted him to third. “I think my time was representative of our pace,” he admitted. “There was a little bit more in me but it was a tough start to Q3 after my error because I knew I had to put a lap in otherwise I would start far back, but we didn’t have enough pace in hand to be a threat today. But we have a stronger pace for the race, and I’ll start on a different tyre compound, so we’ll see what happens.” Vettel will start from sixth (EPA) Unfortunately, what happened before that was a three grid place drop after the session, when he was adjudged to have impeded Carlos Sainz’s Renault during the Spaniard’s second run. That shuffled the order to Bottas, Hamilton; Kimi Raikkonen, Max Verstappen; Romain Grosjean, Daniel Ricciardo; Vettel, Kevin Magnussen. Where Bottas, Hamilton, Raikkonen and Verstappen will start the race on Pirelli’s supersoft tyres, Vettel and Ricciardo will use the ultrasofts, and should thus have a potential advantage initially. There was dissent due to miscommunication in the Red Bull camp as Verstappen and Ricciardo began their final runs, especially as they were separated by interloper Grosjean, whom cynics might accuse of finding some much-needed pace after talk that his ride with Haas is in jeopardy for 2019. Each driver in each team takes a turn race by race to be the one ahead or the follower. Verstappen was the one ahead last weekend, and now it was Ricciardo’s turn. But the latter had done two runs initially, to Verstappen’s one, and was now attempting a third. That situation had not previously been discussed within the team, so there was confusion. Ricciardo was going slowly, wanting to follow Verstappen, who wasn’t playing. Bottas will start from pole (Getty Images) “What’s going on?” the Dutchman demanded to know. He was told to overtake Ricciardo, who himself was told to get on with it but replied that he didn’t want to be the one “punching a hole” through the air. Both refused to do as instructed. "No,” the Dutchman said, “last weekend I was in front, now he's in front. Come on, man." Told once again to pass Ricciardo, he said, “"No.<doc-sep>Lewis Hamilton struggled for the fastest line at the Red Bull Ring, qualifying only second quickest for the Austrian Grand Prix behind his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton, who starts Sunday’s race with a 14-point lead over Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, went wide at Turn Two on his penultimate flying lap and was short of perfection on his last. He was 0.019sec back from the Finn when the action stopped. READ: The full qualifying report from the Red Bull Ring Having reclaimed the championship lead in France last time out, Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to now build his advantage at this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix. Hamilton's win in Paul Ricard saw a return to form for the Brit and his Mercedes team who arrive at the Red Bull Ring with an updated and improved race package. Follow all the qualifying action from Spielberg as it happens. If you are using the app, please click here to view today’s live blog<doc-sep>
VALTTERI BOTTAS beat Lewis Hamilton to take pole position for the Austrian GP. Brit Hamilton made a mistake on his first run in the final qualifying session and gifted front spot to Bottas while Sebastian Vettel qualified in third - before being given a grid penalty. 3 Valtteri Bottas beat team-mate Lewis Hamilton to take pole in Austria Credit: AFP Vettel, who currently trails Hamilton by 14 points, was hit with a three-place grid penalty for Sunday's race for blocking Renault's Carlos Sainz during qualifying. FIA stewards reviewed the video evidence and demoted him to sixth on the gird. They also hit Vettel with an extra penalty point on his super licence. It was Bottas’ first pole this season while Hamilton’s second place on the gird makes it back to back one-twos for Mercedes, who are clearly benefiting from their new engine. McLaren endured another miserable afternoon as Fernando Alonso made a mistake in qualifying and slid off track while his teammate, Stoffel Vandoorne did not even make it out of Q3. 3 Valtteri Bottas took advantage of Lewis Hamilton's mistake to take top spot Credit: EPA Alonso will start down in 13th place while Vandoorne is promoted to 15th owing to Charles Leclerc’s five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. Meanwhile, Christian Horner has told Mercedes chief Toto Wolff to hurry up and get Hamilton to sign his new contract. Hamilton is stalling over a two-year deal worth a whopping £40million-a-year. And rival Red Bull boss Horner is frustrated because his driver Daniel Ricciardo will not commit his future until Hamilton makes up his mind. Horner said: “The whole driver market is waiting for Toto’s driver to kick that off." 3 Valtteri Bottas will now start on pole for Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix Credit: AFP MOST READ IN F1 LEW FOOLS Hamilton told by Mercedes it WAS their fault over call that caused Monaco flop COP'S DAUGHTER Who is Max Mosley's wife Jean? MONTE CAR-BLOW Hamilton to demand answers in Mercedes post-mortem after nightmare Monaco GP HORSE POWER Michael Schumacher’s family buy £2.4million plot for stables in Majorca Live Blog MONACO GP LIVE Verstappen WINS in style as Hamilton and Mercedes struggle in Monte Carlo YOU B-LEW IT Hamilton fumes at Mercedes as double Monaco cock-up hands Verstappen top spot Hamilton said: "Firstly congratulations to Valtteri, he did a fantastic job to be on pole today. It had gone relatively well, a good weekend, pace was relatively good throughout qualifying. It was obviously very close between us all. "Right at the end, I think I made a mistake on the first run. When you don’t have your first lap as a banker, you kind of go from scratch on the second one. It always helps when you get a good first lap in, you can try to improve on it. "The next one was really good, and obviously it was quite close between us which I’m happy about. Still a one-two for the team."