SPIELBERG, Austria – Dutchman Max Verstappen resisted an attack from Briton Lando Norris at the start of the event before giving himself a cushion in the lead to win the sprint race at the Austrian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Saturday.
Verstappen crossed the line 4.616 seconds ahead of Australian Oscar Piastri, who himself beat McLaren team-mate Norris by 0.732 seconds.
The reigning triple world champion has won all three sprint races and seven of the 10 races so far this season. While he is apparently heading for a fourth title, the Red Bull driver felt the pressure in the opening laps of the sprint.
“We had to work for it,” Verstappen said.
Norris started from second on the grid and stuck close to Verstappen for the first few laps, using the Drag Reduction System (DRS) to attack the leader in the drivers’ standings.
Norris managed to overtake Verstappen on lap five, but the Dutchman fought back at the next corner to retake the lead. Piastri took advantage to also get ahead of his teammate.
Piastri was unable to attack and Verstappen gradually increased his lead until the 23rd and final lap of the race.
Verstappen indicated that the key was to give himself that first one-second cushion which allowed him to take away the DRS advantage from his opponents.
“It was a good first lap, but once the DRS kicks in it’s very hard to pull away, it took me a few laps,” Verstappen explained. “A few exciting battles, but when they got out of the DRS zone I was able to control my pace. We had two cars pushing to the max which made it difficult for me.”
The race was shortened by one lap after a cancelled start. The drivers had to do a second preparation lap.
The win allows Verstappen to increase his lead over Norris by two points. The gap is now 71 points.
Quebecer Lance Stroll started from 12th position and gained two places in the first round by overtaking Frenchmen Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, from Alpine. The Aston Martin driver finished 10th, while his Spanish teammate Ferandon Alonso settled for 16th.
Qualifying for the main race was scheduled to take place later on Saturday.
Austrian Grand Prix sprint race classification (23 laps) :
1. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) 26:41.389
2. Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren-Mercedes) 26:46.005
3. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 26:46.737
4. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 26:49.743
5. Carlos Sainz fils (ESP/Ferrari) 26:51.378
6. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 26:52.596
7. Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) 26:54.813
8. Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull) 26:58.798
9. Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas-Ferrari) 27:05.456
10. Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 27:11.564
11. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine-Renault) 27:12.228
12. Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine-Renault) 27:12.697
13. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/Racing Bulls-Red Bull) 27:16.841
14. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Racing Bulls-Red Bull) 27:20.786
15. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 27:24.544
16. Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams-Mercedes) 27:25.465
17. Alexander Albon (THA/Williams-Mercedes) 27:26.062
18. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Sauber-Ferrari) 27:27.900
19. Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Haas-Ferrari) 27:29.812 *
20. Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Sauber-Ferrari) 27:34.532
* Nico Hülkenberg (Haas) received a 10-second penalty for pushing Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) off the track while trying to overtake him.
