F1 2025 Austria GP live: Race start time, schedule and qualifying results

7. Racing Bulls – 28 points

8. Aston Martin – 22 points

“The times have changed,” Hamilton, who co-produced the new F1 Movie, said. “I would say the racing space has probably got a lot busier with the fame of the sport, so it’s probably more intense.

“The media is more reactive, maybe. You’ve got social media presence and online abuse that we didn’t have when I got into the sport.

“It’s been pretty amazing to see how mature the young drivers that have come in – young men that have come in – have adapted and how they’ve carried that weight, because it’s no easy situation to be thrown into.”

As the Formula One enterprise returns to real racing this weekend in Austria – away from the sprinkle and stardust of movie premieres in New York and London – one of the season’s standout drivers so far is in an unusual predicament. A scenario, you might say, worthy of a drama. No doubt Box to Box, the producers of Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive, are rubbing their hands together.

George Russell, at this present stage, can do little more. The 27-year-old, in his fourth season at Mercedes and first without Lewis Hamilton by his side, has taken to the role of “team leader” with poise and serenity. As the Brit acknowledged to The Independent last month, he’s been “getting better and better”.

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 198 points

2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 176 points

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 79 points

18. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 4 points

“The car was pulling to one side, had a lot of damage in the floor… in the end, obviously not happy. Too many issues and problems.

“We’ll see tomorrow, today was not our day. We need to find out why we’ve got so many problems.”

“For clarification, the grass fire was caused by a car going off track, rather than by sparks flying off from cars on track, as in previous cases.

“Additional dampening of the grass will take place during the break between Q2 and Q3.”

“It was easily my best lap of the year,” Norris said. “I did what I planned to do, and when I do that and it goes right, it normally goes very, very well.

“Some of my tough moments have been in qualifying, so to have a performance like that is exciting.

“I am very happy, but I want to prove it to myself over and over again and I hope this is just the beginning.”

“I didn’t get to start [my lap], Gasly spun. Lando’s been very quick all weekend but I think we easily had enough pace to be on the front row. Sometimes just not your day.”