Finland's Valtteri Bottas will start the Formula One season on pole position after denying Mercedes teammate and six-times world champion Lewis Hamilton the top slot in Austria.
The Austrian Grand Prix starts the COVID-19 disrupted season tomorrow morning (NZ time).
The front-row lockout by Mercedes equalled Ferrari's record of 65, and the "Black Arrows" - their new livery a statement against racism - were in a private duel at the scenic Red Bull Ring.
Hamilton had started as favourite after dominating all three practice sessions but Bottas shifted up a gear just when it mattered.
Hamilton was a mere 0.012 slower than the Finn's time of one minute 02.939 seconds, set on his first run, after lapping fastest on Friday and Saturday's final practice at the scenic Red Bull Ring.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen, the winner of the past two races at his team's home circuit, qualified third - half a second slower than Hamilton - but as the sole driver in the top 10 on the medium tyres.
McLaren's Lando Norris, at 20 the youngest man in the race, will line up an impressive fourth.
Ferrari had a horror day with Frenchman Charles Leclerc down in seventh, while soon-to-be-departing Sebastian Vettel missed out on Q3 and will start 11th.
Reuters
