Wolff on possible pit lane start for Hamilton: "Will see"

The Austrian chief says it is personal mistakes by Hamilton and Russell, but he adds: "We gave them ten weekends in a row with a car that was not up to scratch and now that we are starting to get equal and are at the front, it can happen that you just lose the car. I would rather have a fast car and a qualifying like this than not have the pace to be in the top four," Wolff told Sky Sports.

At least Wolff was upbeat about Mercedes' speed."Yes, we are surprised. Spielberg was always a race where we struggled, even on our best days we weren't doing very well, so we didn't expect to make another step in terms of performance. But, slowly things are coming together."

Russell eventually set the fifth-fastest time, while Lewis Hamilton will start from tenth at the Red Bull Ring on Saturday for the sprint race. It remains to be seen whether the seven-time world champion will actually start from the grid. If the damage is too severe, a start from the pit lane is also a possibility. "We'll see."

On the other hand, Russell might move up another spot. Sergio Perez is due to visit the stewards. Sergio Perez has to visit the stewards because he allegedly did not respect the track limits in Q2.