Red Bull's Max Verstappen continued his roar back to form by taking pole for Saturday's sprint race at the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix.
The sprint format is being used for the third time this year, after China and Miami, and the triple world champion made sure he was top of the pack with a one-shot lap in SQ3 of 1 minute 04.686 seconds.
"Great to be first here in front of my fans, my home grand prix. It's a good start to the weekend," the Dutchman said.
McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were second and third quickest.
Having not looked as dominant as last season earlier this year, Verstappen has pulled away in the standings after winning the last two races in Canada and Spain.
Success on his Red Bull team's home track in round 11 looks likely given his four previous wins in Spielberg.
First he must negotiate the sprint race on Saturday before qualifying for Sunday's full grand prix.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc appeared to have a problem in the pitlane in SQ3 and could not set a time so placed 10th. Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin was a surprise early casualty in SQ2 and will start the Saturday's sprint race 13th.
In the only practice session of the weekend in Spielberg earlier, Verstappen caused a red flag due to an apparent engine problem but returned to set the fastest time.
The world champion stopped on the track and had to be pushed to an exit by marshals midway through the session, which was suspended for a time.
But the Red Bull mechanics were their usual quick selves and the Dutchman was back out racing within minutes. As time ticked down, he set a best lap of 1:05.685.
It is not thought the 26-year-old will now incur a future grid penalty for too many engine changes, as it appeared to be just an engine reset.
