Today was definitely my favourite day at the Red Bull Ring so far. I am really pleased with all of the work that I managed to get done and it was a fantastic qualifying session, with a surprise pole-sitter.
It was another early start, with a 5:45am alarm. We managed to arrive at the circuit at just after 7:30am and I got straight to work on a few news pieces.
Prior to third practice, I edited and finished my interview with Marcus Ericsson (you can read about how that went here) ready for posting over lunch.
Valtteri Bottas set the pace for Williams in the final practice session, with a 1m09.848 on the super-soft Pirelli compound tyre. He finished just ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with his team-mate Felipe Massa, Daniil Kvyat and Nico Rosberg completing the top five.
It was a difficult session for Jenson Button and Max Chilton who both lost track time due to reliability issues. The most spectacular moment of the session was when Sergio Perez ran wide at the final corner and launched his VJM07 into the air after hitting a bump in the closing stages.
After posting my report on Richland F1, Luke Smith (if you spot someone carrying several cans of Red Bull in the paddock, it is probably him - he is trying to successfully complete a challenge), Leanne Boon I grabbed some lunch - which was very nice, although I wasn't sure what it was.
My Marcus Ericsson interview was posted during the break between the F1 action, as well as a feature on the facilities at the Red Bull Ring that I had written earlier.
Oh, and before you ask about the picture, it is Will Buxton's Minion.
The gap between practice three and qualifying went very quickly and suddenly it was time for the first session. Conditions were slightly warmer in comparison to Friday but it was still rather cloudy. Hamilton was fastest from Kvyat, Rosberg, Kevin Magnussen and Perez.
Most of the drivers had one or more of their times disallowed due to exceeding the track limits at turn eight - something they had been warned about prior to qualifying. Adrian Sutil lost his best time, which would have been enough to get him into Q2, but he eventually finished 17th, ahead of his team-mate Esteban Gutierrez, Jules Bianchi, Kamui Kobayashi, Max Chilton and Ericsson.
The second session swiftly followed, with Rosberg and Hamilton setting the pace. Bottas, Massa and Magnussen completed the top five. Perez just missed out on a spot in the top 10 shoot-out and was 11th fastest, but he will start 16th due to his five-place grid penalty.
Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel were the two big names who were eliminated in the second segment. They were joined by Pastor Maldonado, Jean-Eric Vergne and Romain Grosjean.
The final session was a dramatic one and produced an unexpected result. Massa stormed to pole position after narrowly edging out his team-mate, who set the second fastest time and helped make it the first front row lock-out for Williams since the 2003 German Grand Prix.
Hamilton had looked set to challenge for the top spot but his first attempt was disallowed after he ran wide at turn eight. On his second lap he then spun at the second corner - later admitting that it was driver error - and will line up in ninth.
Rosberg was forced to back off on his final attempt due to the yellow flags and slipped to third. Alonso, Ricciardo, Magnussen and Kvyat were next up. Raikkonen, Hamilton and Hulkenberg completed the top 10.
I was quite happy with my qualifying report for Richland F1 and it has had strong views today, which is always nice. I then sorted out which press sessions I was going to attend before watching the start of the GP2 race (we had a great view from the media centre) and heading off to collect quotes.
First up, I heard from Raikkonen. The Finn was disappointed with his performance and failed to get a clean lap together. He particularly struggled at the first corner. I then met up with Katie Tweedle, head of communications at Red Bull Racing, to catch up. She gave me a brief tour of some of the facilities, but I should (if all goes to plan) get a more detailed look around tomorrow.
I then heard from Grosjean, who shared his views on the proposal to introduce standing starts after safety car periods. Next up, I was back in the Red Bull Energy Station to hear from Vettel and Ricciardo. The former was disappointed with his performance, while the latter was surprised by the team's struggles.
I swiftly walked through the paddock to the Mercedes motorhome, where I recorded the thoughts of Rosberg and Hamilton after a far-from-expected result, before returning to the media centre to get it all typed up. It was a very busy end to the day but I was really pleased with all of my work.
Tomorrow will be another long stint at the circuit but I can't wait. It looks set to be a very exciting and interesting race, so I am looking forward to covering my first grand prix trackside. Be sure to check out Richland F1 tomorrow for all the latest.
Prior to third practice, I edited and finished my interview with Marcus Ericsson (you can read about how that went here) ready for posting over lunch.
Valtteri Bottas set the pace for Williams in the final practice session, with a 1m09.848 on the super-soft Pirelli compound tyre. He finished just ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with his team-mate Felipe Massa, Daniil Kvyat and Nico Rosberg completing the top five.
It was a difficult session for Jenson Button and Max Chilton who both lost track time due to reliability issues. The most spectacular moment of the session was when Sergio Perez ran wide at the final corner and launched his VJM07 into the air after hitting a bump in the closing stages.
After posting my report on Richland F1, Luke Smith (if you spot someone carrying several cans of Red Bull in the paddock, it is probably him - he is trying to successfully complete a challenge), Leanne Boon I grabbed some lunch - which was very nice, although I wasn't sure what it was. My Marcus Ericsson interview was posted during the break between the F1 action, as well as a feature on the facilities at the Red Bull Ring that I had written earlier.
Oh, and before you ask about the picture, it is Will Buxton's Minion.
The gap between practice three and qualifying went very quickly and suddenly it was time for the first session. Conditions were slightly warmer in comparison to Friday but it was still rather cloudy. Hamilton was fastest from Kvyat, Rosberg, Kevin Magnussen and Perez.
Most of the drivers had one or more of their times disallowed due to exceeding the track limits at turn eight - something they had been warned about prior to qualifying. Adrian Sutil lost his best time, which would have been enough to get him into Q2, but he eventually finished 17th, ahead of his team-mate Esteban Gutierrez, Jules Bianchi, Kamui Kobayashi, Max Chilton and Ericsson.
The second session swiftly followed, with Rosberg and Hamilton setting the pace. Bottas, Massa and Magnussen completed the top five. Perez just missed out on a spot in the top 10 shoot-out and was 11th fastest, but he will start 16th due to his five-place grid penalty.
Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel were the two big names who were eliminated in the second segment. They were joined by Pastor Maldonado, Jean-Eric Vergne and Romain Grosjean.
The final session was a dramatic one and produced an unexpected result. Massa stormed to pole position after narrowly edging out his team-mate, who set the second fastest time and helped make it the first front row lock-out for Williams since the 2003 German Grand Prix.
Hamilton had looked set to challenge for the top spot but his first attempt was disallowed after he ran wide at turn eight. On his second lap he then spun at the second corner - later admitting that it was driver error - and will line up in ninth.
Rosberg was forced to back off on his final attempt due to the yellow flags and slipped to third. Alonso, Ricciardo, Magnussen and Kvyat were next up. Raikkonen, Hamilton and Hulkenberg completed the top 10.
I was quite happy with my qualifying report for Richland F1 and it has had strong views today, which is always nice. I then sorted out which press sessions I was going to attend before watching the start of the GP2 race (we had a great view from the media centre) and heading off to collect quotes.
First up, I heard from Raikkonen. The Finn was disappointed with his performance and failed to get a clean lap together. He particularly struggled at the first corner. I then met up with Katie Tweedle, head of communications at Red Bull Racing, to catch up. She gave me a brief tour of some of the facilities, but I should (if all goes to plan) get a more detailed look around tomorrow.
I then heard from Grosjean, who shared his views on the proposal to introduce standing starts after safety car periods. Next up, I was back in the Red Bull Energy Station to hear from Vettel and Ricciardo. The former was disappointed with his performance, while the latter was surprised by the team's struggles.I swiftly walked through the paddock to the Mercedes motorhome, where I recorded the thoughts of Rosberg and Hamilton after a far-from-expected result, before returning to the media centre to get it all typed up. It was a very busy end to the day but I was really pleased with all of my work.
Tomorrow will be another long stint at the circuit but I can't wait. It looks set to be a very exciting and interesting race, so I am looking forward to covering my first grand prix trackside. Be sure to check out Richland F1 tomorrow for all the latest.
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