Max Verstappen won the third Formula 1 Sprint race in 2024 in Austria fending off a stern challenge from McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
After the Sprint qualifying, McLaren, Norris in particular, emerged as the toughest challenger for Verstappen, and the stage was set for an exciting Sprint. Indeed it was, especially at the early stages of the 24-lap race.
Verstappen started well from pole and managed to lead of off Turn 1 while Norris had to deal with a charging Piastri.
By Lap 6, Norris managed to overtake Verstappen briefly, the triple F1 Champion managed to retake the position with Piastri benefitting from the fight a denying his teammate second.
It was another case of Verstappen making the difference for Red Bull as McLaren edge closer with their car, his move on Norris and retaking the lead without DRS simply sublime.
Great racing from Verstappen and Norris, but the former clearly still has the upper hand.
After that, Verstappen started building a the gap, while drivers behind him were busy fighting among each other, Norris trying to retake second from Piastri but failing.
George Russell lost fourth to Carlos Sainz at the start but managed to retake the position, and while Lewis Hamilton tried to attack the Spaniard he had to settle for sixth.
Charles Leclerc finished seventh after started from tenth, having failed to set a lap time in SQ3 on Friday, while Sergio Perez took the final point in eighth.
What the top three said
Austria's Sprint Race winner, Verstappen said: "It was a good first lap but once the DRS opens, it was very hard to get out of it. A few exciting battles as well but once we cleared the DRS, I could do my own race and it was better.
"You could see they had two cars pushing flat-out trying to make it difficult for me. A few things to think about we can do better for tomorrow because it's a longer race and harder for the tyres.
"It will be interesting to see how that evolves," the Red Bull ace concluded.
Second-placed Piastri added: "I finished one stop higher than I started but just didn’t quite have the pace in the second half of that one.
"I thought Max and Lando were going to pave the way for me to come through at one point, but not quite. There are things to look at for this afternoon and for tomorrow’s race but we’ll definitely take the points – a really good haul compared to the other teams around us," he explained.
As to how he took the place from Norris, the Aussie said: "I could see that they were battling quite hard and into Turn 4 I saw the move was quite late and I knew that there’d be an opportunity on the exit. I was hoping I would get both but just bided my time and tried my best.
"I think I had probably one opportunity to try to get Max the lap after but just didn’t quite have the pace after that. Being patient at the start paid off a bit," Piastri concluded.
Norris reflected: "A good race between us, especially with Max at the beginning it was good fun. There were definitely things I should have done better in my battle. I understand that and the pace of the car was very strong, especially at the end of the race.
"I had a good battle trying to get past Oscar but didn't quite have enough pace. It was a good race. A good job from the team," he added.
"I don't think so," was Norris' response when asked whether McLaren should've ordered Piastri to let him through to try and attack Verstappen.
"We are here to race and it was too difficult to get past. The pace was good. I don't think we had the pace to go with Max, I think he was a bit too quick for us."
Norris was self-critical admitting he made a mistake that allowed Verstappen to repass him, he explained: "I think once things settle in too much, once the tyres get hot it's difficult, so I had to make the most of my opportunity.
"Then I messed it up and left the door open like an amateur. Some things to improve but we are there and can definitely give them a fight tomorrow," the McLaren driver concluded.
How the Sprint unraveled
The F1 grid lined up on the grid of the 24-lap Sprint, the third this season, under clear conditions with the track temperatures recording 43 degrees Celsius with air temperature at 29 degrees, with the risk of rain being 0%.
All the teams played it safe, with all drivers on Medium tyres, as no one risked the Softs especially as the track temperatures have increased. Alex Albon will start from the pitlane after Williams broke parc ferme to do some setup changes on his car.
After the first formation lap, the start was aborted and another formation lap was done with now only 23 laps remaining from the Sprint.
A clean start for all drivers as Verstappen had a great start and while Piastri tried to challenge Norris, the Briton was ahead into Turn 1, and as Verstappen started to build a gap, the McLarens were busy fighting each other.
Lap 2/23: Verstappen leads from Norris, Piastri, as Sainz passed Russell for fourth while Leclerc makes up three places and is in seventh. Magnussen goes up to ninth.
Lap 3/23: Verstappen is under attack from Norris who is turn is under attack from his teammate Piastri. Norris breaks from DRS and closes in on the Verstappen.
Lap 4/23: Verstappen goes wide on Turn 4 and is under another attack from Norris, but manages to keep him at bay.
Lap 5/23: Norris takes the lead from Verstappen after a late braking into Turn 3, but Verstappen keeps the pressure and retakes the lead with a great late braking of his own, while Piastri makes use of the fight and passes his teammate.
Lap 6/23: Piastri starts his attack on Verstappen, but the Dutchman stands firm, Norris remains in DRS behind his teammate.
Lap 7/23: Verstappen reports: "I'm clipping way too much". He is not happy with his energy recovery.
Lap 8/23: Russell retakes fourth from Sainz, but up front, Verstappen keeps the lead but Piastri is not backing down.
Lap 9/23: Verstappen still cannot break the DRS from Piastri, but is a bit more ahead of Piastri who just manages to get DRS. Leclerc remains in seventh while Perez is in eighth.
Lap 10/23: Verstappen managed to break away from Piastri's DRS threat, and sets out building the gap. It is just about managing the tyres now. Norris drops over two seconds behind his teammate.
Lap 12/23: The fight now is between Ferrari and Mercedes, Russell in fourth, Sainz in fifth, Hamilton in sixth with Leclerc seventh.
Lap 13/23: Not much changes, the Alpines of Ocon and Gasly fight for 11th and 12th.
Lap 14/23: Norris closes in on Piastri and has DRS. Verstappen now has a two-second lead up front.
Lap 15/23: Norris is still stuck behind Piastri and starts losing time as Verstappen now has a 2.2s lead up front and safe from any attacks for now.
Lap 16/23: Hamilton is within DRS for Sainz and starts his attack on the #55 Ferrari for fifth place. Perez is way behind Leclerc and cannot challenge for seventh.
Lap17/23: The intra-McLaren battle continues as Norris is yet to pass Piastri, while Hamilton continues his charge on Sainz for fifth.
Lap 18/23: Verstappen's lead is not over three seconds, while there is not change in the point-scoring points behind him.
Lap 19/23: The status quo remains, with Norris now over four seconds in the lead benefiting from the McLaren drivers' fight.
Lap 23/23: Norris goes for a final charge on his teammate for second, but Piastri defends and keeps second, his teammate settling for third.
Behind the top three, Russell led the pack in fourth, ahead of Sainz in fifth, Hamilton in sixth, Leclerc in seventh, and Perez taking the final point in eighth.
Austrian GP Sprint Classification
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