Austrian GP: Verstappen cruises to victory in action-packed Sprint

Max Verstappen overcame a Lap 1 duel with teammate Sergio Perez before easing to victory in the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint.

Rain before lights out led to the first wet Sprint in F1 and it was Perez who got the better launch at the start and got ahead of Verstappen into Turn 1.

Verstappen tried to respond and was briefly pushed onto the grass by Checo on the run to Turn 3 before the Dutchman attacked again into the right-hander where many drivers struggled to slow down.

Lando Norris was horribly compromised by the fighting Red Bulls, dropping from third down to 10th as the field bunched up.

Verstappen finally reclaimed the lead at Turn 4 and pushed his teammate wide enough to allow Nico Hulkenberg up to second for Haas.

Alex Albon made a strong start, moving up from 11th to seventh in the Williams, as the two Mercedes’ also gained places after a poor Sprint Shootout.

As conditions began to dry, Perez finally got back ahead of Hulkenberg for P2 with Carlos Sainz following through on the next lap for third.

Further down, Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc were swapping places every lap in the duel for the final point in eighth.

George Russell triggered a late twist by pitting for slicks and quickly went faster than Verstappen in the lead.

Half the grid responded by also switching onto dry tyres while the rest tried to hold on with used intermediates.

The highest-placed driver to take the gamble was Hulkenberg from fourth and it wouldn’t quite pay off as he slipped to sixth despite a late charge.

Russell did benefit though as he passed Norris on the final lap to claim the final point in eighth, finishing just 0.009s behind Ocon ahead in seventh.

At the front, however, nothing could threaten Verstappen, who claimed victory by a massive 21 seconds over Perez with Sainz in third.

Aston Martin capitalised on Hulkenberg’s pit stop to claim fourth and fifth, as Lance Stroll held off teammate Fernando Alonso in the closing laps.

After losing out on Lap 1, Norris lost out again dropping to ninth and just outside the points.

Lewis Hamilton finished 10th ahead of a feisty Oscar Piastri, who produced great moves on Leclerc and Albon in 12th and 13th.

Kevin Magnussen was 14th, followed by Pierre Gasly in 15th. Yuki Tsunoda led AlphaTauri teammate Nyck De Vries in 16th and 17th.

Logan Sargeant was 18th as the two Alfa Romeos brought up the field with Zhou Guanyu ahead of Valtteri Bottas.