F1 – Austrian Grand Prix race: Live leaderboard and lap-by-lap updates as Max Verstappen starts on pole while Lando Norris and George Russell seek to ruin Red Bull’s weekend

Can you feel the excitement rising? I don’t know why, but the pre-race music and anticipation for lights out never fail to set my pulse racing.

There’s nothing quite like it. Welcome to 71 laps of mayhem, drama, cataclysm, thrill, and jeopardy. Round 11 of the F1 World Championship, here we go.

‘Would Max Verstappen ever consider joining Mercedes in 2025? No, there is no reason. Why would he?

‘The (Red Bull) car is ultra-dominant, maybe he is going to win every race. 2026 is our main year where lots of things change and I think it could be quite attractive to drive with us but whether it’s Max and whether he can get out of his contract I don’t know.’

The assembled fans in Spielberg have been treated to some Queen as part of the pre-race show. ‘We Will Rock You’ was blasted out to fans on a race weekend which has, in the past, exceeded 300,000 spectators.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments ahead of today’s race.

Crucially, how do you think the Brits will get on?

Red Bull are something like a duck this year – serene above the water but flapping below.

They’ve got a 24-point cushion over Ferrari to sit top of the constructors’ standings, which isn’t so commanding by their typical form. And with the Christian Horner scandal earlier this year, it looked as if the team could be torn apart.

Now we’ve got another spat involving Max Verstappen’s father, Jos.

‘I’m just about to ruin Mozart forever,’ composer Hans Zimmer tells Martin Brundle on his grid walk, holding a guitar.

Mercedes supremo Toto Wolff sat down for an emotional interview as he opened up on the exit of Lewis Hamilton – who will be taking the stage door to Ferrari and drawing the curtains on an illustrious Silver Arrows stint – and which youngster is destined to sit at the wheel for the famous team one day.

We’ve got less than 25 minutes until the race now and the grid have been going through their last preparations for the race.

Hours have been spent painstakingly detailing the cars for the race and the drivers will know every nook and cranny of the course. Strategies, however, can be in flux dependent on weather and whatever the race throws at teams. It’s a mix of thorough preparation and adaptability.

Mail Sport’s best wishes go to Martin Brundle and his wife after news has emerged that they are taking time apart from one another.

The legendary F1 presenter, known for his quirky grid walks with Sky Sports, has been married to Liz for 40 years.

It’s never nice to report on family issues in sport and we all need to remmeber that real people are at the heart of this.

In case you missed it, Gasly has penned a fresh multi-year deal with Alpine. They’ve had a tricky year – they’re ninth in the constructors’ standings – but they know a good driver when they see one.

Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon, Kobbie Mainoo… plenty of players have been of fans’ lips as they call for Gareth Southgate to make changes at Euro 2024, but why has nobody mentioned George Russell?

Well, this. Russell shows off his teckers and while it’s better than anything I could achieve, it’s short of the standard needed for professional football.

It’s good that he focused on his karting studies as that football career never worked out.

He might have the face of an angel but vocally Yuki Tsunoda can be more devilish.

The Japanese RB driver, who has been in the best form of his career in recent months, has been docked a huge sum of cash for his potty mouth after a slur.

He has apologised and explained that he did not understand the fully meaning of the slur.

This is what people mean if they refer to this as a home race for Max Verstappen.

Is he Austrian? Absolutely not. Does that matter one bit? Nope – he’s the toast of the stands after hordes of orange-clad Dutch fanatics flocked out to support him.

Norris was in a sober mood after qualifying second almost half a second behind You Know Who.

Often a self-critical character, he admitted the result exposed the ‘gap’ between him and Verstappen.

You can listen to his comments here.

That’s right, get your tissues out. We could be seeing the last of Ricciardo in F1 in coming weeks.

The amiable Australian may well be replaced by emerging talent Liam Lawson after Red Bull overlord Helmut Marko admitted that the seat should be to a junior driver soon.

Aged 34, Verstappen is no spring chicken. With Perez having signed an extension until 2026 with Red Bull, he will have to dart in elsewhere or risk slipping out of the sport altogether.

Yesterday saw our 20 intrepid speedsters take part in a sprint race.

Don’t call it boring just because Verstappen won, because it was anything but.

Norris did have the chance to win when he divebombed past Verstappen at Turn Four, but he quickly lost the lead as team-mate Piastri darted past – and it was Piastri who finished second ahead of the Brit.

Perez will be disappointed to be languished in eighth while Alonso was off the pace, finishing 14th and scoring no points.

This is how we line up today.

A solid opportunity for the Brits, with Norris second, Russell third, and Hamilton fifth. Expect plenty of opportunities for overtaking on one of the calendar’s shorter courses this afternoon.

Mercedes have picked up their form recently. Could we even see Norris or Russell take a stab at top spot? It will take a clever strategy to outdo Red Bull – Verstappen qualified almost half a second faster than Norris.

The big news coming in to this race weekend is that Max Verstappen will not be joining Mercedes next season.

the Silver Arrows has hoped to capitalise on the disarray caused by the Christian Horner scandal, with Mercedes chief Toto Wolff very open about his affection for the three-time World Champion.

But Verstappen has poured cold water on those ambitions and given Red Bull a major boost ahead of this race.

Hello and welcome to Mail Sport’s live blog of the F1 Austrian GP.

Tens of thousands of Dutch fans have descended on Spielberg for Red Bull’s home race as Max Vertsappen targets a third consecutive win.

Meanwile, Lando Norris starts in second as he looks to build on his stellar recent form and bag a second win of his career.