- Hamilton ran wide of the final corner at the Red Bull Ring on Saturday
- A blaze broke out on the grass but marshals were quick on the scene
- After the incident, Norris delivered an inch-perfect lap to secure pole
An incident involving Lewis Hamilton led to a fire breaking out during Austrian Grand Prix qualifying, bringing the session to a premature stop halfway through.
Hamilton ran wide of the final corner at the Red Bull Ring with just over five minutes remaining of Q2 and a small patch of grass quickly burst into flames.
The titanium skid block of the seven-time world champion’s Ferrari dragged along the surface, igniting the blaze, but marshals were quick on the scene with extinguishers.
After the fire was quickly put out, drivers were allowed back onto the track.
The FIA opted to test using steel skid blocks during the Spanish Grand Prix but did not make the change despite the chaos in Japan in April.
Multiple grass fires caused delays to FP2 at Suzuka – with the red flags waved twice. Certain patches were watered and others were removed entirely to prevent a repeat.
Lewis Hamilton was involved in an incident which resulted in a fire at the Red Bull Ring
Track marshals were quick to extinguish the blaze after Hamilton’s Ferrari ran wide
McLaren’s Lando Norris secured pole for the Austrian Grand Prix after a scintillating lap
After the action resumed in Austria, McLaren’s Lando Norris delivered a red-hot lap to take pole position, fending off Charles Leclerc by a whopping 0.521 seconds.
Oscar Piastri, Norris’ team-mate and the championship leader, will start third while Hamilton steered his Ferrari to fourth. Mercedes’ George Russell took fifth.
Norris said: ‘It was a good lap, that’s for sure.
‘My Q3 run one was good but I knew there were a few places where if I just got it right I could make up quite a bit more time and I did that.’
The inch-perfect lap will deliver a timely boost to Norris’ fading championship hopes with Piastri having entered the weekend holding a 22-gap advantage. Last time out, the Brit crashed out in Canada after running into the back of his sparring partner.
Norris added: ‘Qualifying has been some of my tough moments so to put in a lap like this is pleasing for myself. It’s a long race tomorrow and a long season.
‘I want to prove it myself over and over again and this is just the beginning of it.’
