Max Verstappen has kept Austrian Grand Prix Formula 1 pole position after stewards did not penalise him for a block on Kevin Magnussen. On the exit of Turn 1 during the first segment of Qualifying, the Red Bull was slow on the racing line as Magnussen had to jink to the right to avoid rear-ending the World Champion's car. Impeding has been a cause of concern in recent Qualifying sessions, with Pierre Gasly picking up two-three place penalties in Spain while Carlos Sainz received his own three-place drop in in Canada for the same reason. Having spoken with both drivers and reviewed video evidence and data, the stewards elected to take no further action against Verstappen. The stewards found that Magnussen clipped the kerb at Turn 1, resulting in a slower time through the mini-sectors and that he "did not have to take significant evasive action." The fact that Magnussen's time was subsequently deleted for track limits was ignored by the stewards as: "any incident is always investigated independently of other incidents or penalties." It means the grid line up for Sunday's race remains the same with Verstappen joined by Charles Leclerc on the front-row, Carlos Sainz third, Lando Norris fourth and Lewis Hamilton in fifth. Magnussen qualified the Haas 19th fastest having been knocked out in Q1.
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