Verstappen wins sprint in Austria

With another demonstration of power, Max Verstappen won the second sprint race of the Formula 1 season in Spielberg. The world champion from the Netherlands won on Saturday in the Red Bull in the drizzle, ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez (+21,048 seconds) and Carlos Sainz (+23,088) in the Ferrari. Verstappen received eight points for the championship standings and extended his lead over Perez to 70 points.

For the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday (15.00 p.m.), Verstappen had already secured first place on the grid on Friday, ahead of last year's winner Charles Leclerc and Sainz in the two Ferraris. The two Aston Martin drivers Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso finished fourth and fifth in the sprint, while Nico Hülkenberg came sixth in the Haas. The Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who started from positions 15 and 18, finished eighth and tenth as the track dried out. Leclerc, who had been moved back three places to ninth on the sprint grid due to an “unnecessary hindrance,” finished twelfth.

Verstappen led from the start in rainy Spielberg. © APA/afp / JOE KLAMAR

Red Bull is aiming for the team's 101st victory in the first home race since the death of company founder Dietrich Mateschitz. In front of many Dutch fans in orange, Verstappen is hoping for his fifth triumph in Styria and his seventh success in the ninth race of the season. Perez won the first sprint of the year in Baku. Four more sprint races are still on the racing calendar this year, in Spa, Qatar, Austin and Brazil.

In the short race in wet conditions over 24 laps, the field of drivers started on the intermediate tires. Perez got off to a better start than Verstappen in second place and moved ahead of his teammates in the first corner. On the following straight he pushed his teammate a little onto the grass, but the double world champion grabbed the lead again with a late braking maneuver. The big beneficiary of the situation was Hülkenberg, who found himself in the unusual role of Verstappen's first maneuver.

Discord between teammates “He pushed me off the track, what’s the point?” Verstappen said angrily on the pit radio. Perez saw the tricky situation a little differently. “What’s wrong with Max?” asked the Mexican. Hülkenberg defended his second place until the halfway point of the race, then Perez and Sainz passed the German in quick succession. As a result, the track dried out a little and six laps before the end some drivers switched to dry tires. Including Hülkenberg, for whom the pit stop was ultimately a zero-sum game.

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Verstappen wins sprint in Austria

Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has further extended his lead in the overall World Cup standings with a victory in the Spielberg sprint.

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