Max Verstappen won the Austrian Grand Prix sprint race at the Red Bull Ring. The victory guarantees the Red Bull driver pole position for the grand race on Sunday. He defeated Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to finish second and third in the 24-lap qualifying race for the GP. Mercedes’ George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were fourth and ninth, respectively.
Verstappen, Sergio Pérez, and Charles Leclerc continue to duel at the top of the standings. With eight points for the victory, the Dutchman is currently 38 points ahead of his Mexican colleague, who finished fifth, and 44 points ahead of the Ferrari driver.
Verstappen has another opportunity on Sunday to expand his championship lead from pole position. It is not considered to have won the pole position, as that distinction goes to the fastest driver in Friday’s qualifying, which was Verstappen in this instance.
Hamilton and Russell were both eliminated from qualifying on Friday, and Mercedes had to perform extensive repairs. Their staff worked tirelessly to assure their participation in the race. Due to the damage, Hamilton’s chassis was replaced with the spare, and both cars received new gearboxes while retaining their old units. Both cars’ floors and wings were also restored.
Throughout the majority of the third practice, mechanics worked on Hamilton’s car, and he emerged with only 15 minutes remaining.
After winning the British Grand Prix last year and Imola earlier this season, this is Verstappen’s third victory in a short race. It is a powerful statement of intent from the Dutchman and his Red Bull team at their home race, and with four victories at this track, he has every opportunity to win again.
The defending champion has been in excellent form this season, and after finishing seventh in the last race at Silverstone due to debris damage to his floor, he will anticipate a clean shot at the victory from the front of the field. Ferrari is convinced that their modifications at this race will allow them to compete on Sunday even though his race speed has been formidable. Leclerc remarked after the race that their speed in the sprint indicates they can still contend in the main event.
Verstappen maintained his lead from the pole position into the first turn, while Sainz passed Leclerc to take second. However, the Monaco rider returned quickly to recover the position inside the fourth turn.
Hamilton fell two positions to 11th on the opening lap, while Verstappen was already two seconds ahead on the third round. Behind him, Leclerc and Sainz were engaged in a fierce battle for the position; Sainz was the faster of the two, but Leclerc managed to maintain his position.
The tussle allowed Verstappen to extend his lead to three seconds, while Hamilton dropped to tenth and engaged Mick Schumacher’s Haas, who was driving well enough to deny the seven-time champion a clear shot.
At the halfway point of the race, Verstappen appeared in complete command, maintaining a safe distance from Leclerc. As he had at Silverstone, Pérez raced strongly to advance from 13th on the starting grid to fifth by lap 18.
