The potential penalty would come as a blow to Hamilton as he seeks to make the best possible start to the sixth title defence of his F1 career.
The Brit has secured the past three World Drivers’ Championships on the bounce and helped Mercedes highlight their superiority on Saturday.
Valtteri Bottas led a Silver Arrows one-two in Spielberg, with Red Bull’s Verstappen qualifying in third.
Verstappen has won the past two Austrian Grands Prix and Mercedes will have been glad of the buffer between the Dutchman and Bottas on pole.
Mercedes and co. are due to race twice at the Red Bull Ring in back-to-back weeks as part of the revamped start to the coronavirus-hit season, which is currently comprised of just eight races.
This article contains affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission on any sales of products or services we write about. This article was written completely independently, see more details here.