Three-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won the sprint race of the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix on Saturday at the Red Bull Ring. Under bright sunshine, the Dutchman beat the two McLarens of Australian Oscar Piastri and Briton Lando Norris after 23 laps of the race and thus pocketed all three sprints contested this season.
“When the DRS was allowed, it was complicated. We had a good fight, the McLarens caused me problems but it was a fun race. Then, when I was out of DRS, I was able to run my race. There are still things to improve before the Grand Prix” on Sunday, stressed “Mad Max”.
Starting in pole position, Verstappen was bothered at the start of the race by the papaya single-seaters, which were well helped by the DRS, like the overtaking of Norris on the Red Bull n°1 on the 5th lap. But the three-time world champion fought back a few seconds later to regain the lead and never let go, while Piastri took the opportunity to steal second place from his teammate. “Happy? Yes and no. I thought at one point I could take advantage of the fight between Max and Lando to sneak past but I couldn’t. I lacked a bit of rhythm to hope to overtake Max afterwards”, explained the Australian.
After this battle, the Dutchman then managed to open up a small gap of more than a second on the McLarens, which allowed him to ward off the threat of the DRS. He then escaped to win with a lead of almost five seconds.
Leclerc 7th
Briton George Russell (Mercedes) took fourth place, ahead of the Ferrari of Spaniard Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes). Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), only 10th on the grid after being unable to set a time in Q3 on Friday following a problem with the anti-stall system, managed to climb back to 7th place to pick up two points, one more than Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull). “The first laps were successful and I was able to gain a few places, then I had to manage the temperature of the brakes. The real problem, like last weekend, is performance. We are struggling at the moment, we are trying to work but there is no miracle solution. We will try to try something in qualifying,” said the Monegasque.
The Top 10 is completed by the Dane Kevin Magnussen (Haas), who fails at the points gate, and the Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin). The two Alpines, who started in 8th and 9th positions after having both managed to reach Q3 on Friday, finally finished in 11th and 12th places.
The drivers now have an appointment at 4:00 p.m. for qualifying which will determine the starting grid for the Grand Prix on Sunday.
