Qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix produced another strong performance from Scuderia Ferrari HP, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton securing second and third places on the grid for tomorrow's 71-lap race, which gets underway at 15.00 CEST. It was an encouraging outcome after the progress made overnight following a more challenging Friday.

On another extremely hot day in Spielberg, with ambient temperatures reaching 34°C and the track peaking at 52°C, tyre management was still an important factor throughout qualifying. Both Ferrari drivers progressed comfortably through Q1 and Q2 using new sets of Soft tyres. Both drivers had two fresh sets of Softs available for the final part of qualifying. On the first runs, Leclerc set a competitive 1'06"756, but Hamilton made a mistake in turn 3 and had to abort his attempt. On their final runs, both Ferrari drivers improved significantly: Charles stopped the clocks in 1'06"349, with Lewis was right behind with a 1'06"408. Moments later, Max Verstappen crashed, bringing out yellow flags in the final sector. While several drivers decided to abandon their laps, George Russell managed to complete his and took pole position.

Second and third on the grid is a strong starting point for the race. Very hot weather is again expected on Sunday, making tyre management a key factor, potentially opening up different strategic options over the 71 laps. With the SF-26s on the first and second row of the grid, the team is in a strong position to fight for a good result.

Charles Leclerc: The car felt good today and we worked hard last night to find the improvements we needed in order to increase our competitiveness on this track. On driving side, I wanted to deliver a clean lap in Q3, and I am happy to start from the front row, which we didn't expect yesterday.

The team has been doing an incredible job in developing our upgrades and bringing them to the car so quickly. If we have an opportunity to get ahead in the race, I will do everything to take it and bring home a well deserved result for the team.

Lewis Hamilton: I'm pleased with today's result, especially considering the improvements we made after yesterday. The team did an amazing job overnight to understand the issues and make the right changes, and the car felt much better today. From Q1 through to Q3, the execution was excellent and everyone did a fantastic job.

We're continuing to make progress through lots of small improvements. The updated power unit is another step in that direction, and it's great to see everyone at the factory continuing to push race after race to help us move forward. I'm really proud of the work we've done together, and it's encouraging to see it starting to pay off.

I left a little bit on the table with my first run in Q3, which was on me, and that affected a bit how I approached the final attempt. But overall, I'm happy with where we've ended up and we'll keep pushing. A big thank you to all the fans here in Austria as well - the support and the energy they bring every year is always incredible.

Fred Vasseur: We can be satisfied with today's result. In qualifying we improved from session to session and both drivers put together strong performances, which confirms the progress we made from yesterday.

After a challenging Friday, with Charles missing the first session to give Dino some track time, the team, both here at the track and back in Maranello, did an excellent job overnight. From FP3 onwards we found a much better balance and took an important step forward.

Now our full focus is on tomorrow's race. We expect the temperatures to remain very high, which means tyre management will be a key factor. Making the right strategic decisions and managing the tyres throughout the race will be essential if we want to make the most of the strong starting positions we've earned today.