Force India only managed to get one of their cars into the third qualifying session, and Nico Hülkenberg found his final flying lap time disallowed due to the tightening up against off-track excursions. The German will start the race from tenth place. Teammate Sergio Pérez qualified 11th, but faces a five place grid drop following a crash with Felipe Massa in Canada.

The team were feeling hopeful going into qualifying, as deputy team principal Robert Fernley explains: "The progress made overnight and this morning solved a lot of the balance problems we experienced yesterday and we were in good shape going into qualifying." He's not too disappointed with the results though, and the mixed up qualifying order could make for some interesting strategy choices, and potential opportunities for points on Sunday.

Hülkenberg also pinpoints the decade hiatus of the Austrian Grand Prix as a strength for the midfield teams: "It's been a long time since Formula One was last here so there are a lot of unanswered questions going into the race. We don't know how the different strategies will unfold, or how the tyres will behave, but I think we've shown recently that we have a very strong race car. Points will be the goal tomorrow."