Austrian GP: Verstappen cruises to sprint win from fighting Ferrari duo
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had a comfortable sprint F1 race win in Austrian GP from Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
The first of two formation lap started in the sprint F1 race in Austrian GP weekend when Alpine’s Fernando Alonso was forced to retire due to a mechanical issue. At the end of the that lap, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu stopped at the final corner.
Even though he got going, the extra formation lap had to be taken. The start worked well for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who led the way calmly from the fighting Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. The two went at each for couple of laps.
Sainz tried to clear him for multiple times whether at Turn 1 and or Turn 4, but the Spaniard couldn’t get through and dropped back. Mercedes’ George Russell, meanwhile, was fourth from Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and the Haas pair.
It was Kevin Magnussen in sixth from Mick Schumacher, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez making up five places to be eighth after the opening lap. There was an incident involving Williams’ Alexander Albon, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.
The Thai was on the outside while the Frenchman on the inside when his wheels touched with the Brit’s which sent Gasly into a spin. This dropped to the back while Hamilton was 11th as Albon made up a good chunk to be 10th on the soft tyres.
It wasn’t for long as Hamilton cleared Albon for 10th and also Bottas to be ninth behind the Haas pair. Those two were cleared by Perez just few laps ago, who also passed Ocon to be fifth. The Mexican, in fact, caught up on the tail of Russell pretty soon.
Hamilton got stuck behind the Haas pair as Bottas stood 10th. There was a 5s penalty for Albon for forcing McLaren’s Lando Norris off the track at Turn 3 in their battle for 11th. The Thai eventually lost to both the Brit and Daniel Ricciardo later on.
He was involved in another incident with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, where the wheel touch sent the German onto the gravel. The moment dropped him to last even though he managed to get out of the gravel and make his way onto the track.
While Verstappen led the way comfortably, the fight for the final point continued between Schumacher and Hamilton. The Brit tried hard but just couldn’t get through him as the German had DRS from teammate Magnussen up ahead in seventh.
It was Verstappen to win the sprint F1 race in Austrian GP as Leclerc ended up second from Sainz with the Top 3 remaining as it is for the main grand prix. Russell was fourth from Perez, who made up nine places to round out the Top 5.
Ocon was sixth from Magnussen and Hamilton in the points, with Schumacher keeping off Bottas in the Top 10. Both Norris and Ricciardo recovered well in 11th and 12th for the main race as Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll slotted in 13th from Zhou.
He kept off Gasly at bay in a close fight till the end as Albon was 16th after his penalty from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi and Vettel. The German was classified 19th but he was asked to retire due to damage.
DNS: Alonso
