Lando Norris left with more regrets after briefly gaining the lead from Max Verstappen but then almost immediately losing it and dropping behind team-mate Oscar Piastri too; watch Qualifying at 3pm later on Saturday ahead of Sunday's Grand Prix at 2pm live on Sky Sports F1
Saturday 29 June 2024 13:58, UK
Max Verstappen withstood a fierce early challenge from the McLarens to win the Austrian GP Sprint for Red Bull.
Verstappen led away from pole but came under big pressure from Lando Norris in the early laps with the McLaren driver making a bold move to seize the lead at the start of lap five in to the uphill Turn Three.
But Norris' lead lasted only one corner as he was immediately re-passed by Verstappen and then, to compound matters, team-mate Oscar Piastri too as the Briton lost momentum out of the turn.
Piastri then held on to second over Norris over the remainder of the 23-lap race, with Verstappen eventually breaking out of DRS range and edging away to win by a more comfortable 4.6-second margin.
"I messed it up and left the door open like an amateur," admitted Norris, who has been feeling unwell in recent weeks, on the move that saw him re-passed by Verstappen.
"Some things to improve but we are there and can definitely give them a fight [in Sunday's Grand Prix]."
George Russell was fourth for Mercedes after recovering from losing position to Carlos Sainz at the start, although the Ferrari driver stayed ahead of Lewis Hamilton in sixth.
Charles Leclerc gained three places from his disappointing grid position to finish seventh, one at the expense of Sergio Perez whose poor run in the second Red Bull continued in eighth with the Mexican taking the final point available in the Sprint.
Verstappen's latest victory - his third in the three Sprint events so far this season and his 10th in the short-form format overall since its introduction in 2021 - adds two extra points to his world championship lead over Norris to give him a 71-point advantage.
Focus now turns to the main event of the full-length Grand Prix itself, with qualifying live later on Saturday at 3pm on Sky Sports F1.
Having felt he should have beaten world championship leader Verstappen to victory in each of the past two Grands Prix, Norris was left with fresh regrets in the Austrian Sprint weekend's first race after a storming opening from second on the grid.
With the field having had to wait a little longer to get the racing action under way after the initial start was aborted due to the position of photographers behind the barriers at Turn One - the addition of an extra formation lap meant the race distance dropped from 24 to 23 laps - Verstappen held his qualifying advantage at the start through the first lap but would soon come under fierce pressure from the papaya cars behind.
Staying within one second of the Red Bull once DRS was enabled at the end of the first lap, Norris had access to the overtaking aid down the Red Bull Ring's three main straights and could therefore apply constant pressure to the race leader.
Norris made his move for the lead - and brilliantly so - three corners in to lap five.
Coming from a long way back approaching the braking zone going into the right-hander, Norris saw a gap and decisively dived down the inside of the Red Bull, forcing Verstappen to take evasive action to avoid any collision.
But his lead lasted a matter of seconds as Verstappen cleverly positioned his car on the exit on the short run down to the next corner and then returned the favour by putting it up the inside of Norris into the next braking zone to regain first place.
Having held a watching brief close behind the duelling leaders, Piastri then sensed his own chance and, with his team-mate disadvantaged on the corner exit, the Australian got around the outside of the sister McLaren on the curved run to Turn Five.
Despite coming under late pressure from Norris, Piastri successfully held on to second.
"Just a bit silly from my side," said Norris in reflection of the outcome of his duel with Verstappen. "Otherwise it was a good race. I made the most of some of the opportunities I had.
"If I waited one more lap, I probably would have lost any more opportunities.
"I did half the job, just didn't finish it off. Room for improvement from my side, for sure. Not to the level it needs to be."
Verstappen admitted that "once the DRS opens, it was very hard to get out of it" but was pleased to eventually be able to pull away from his pursuers.
"A few exciting battles as well but once we cleared the DRS, I could do my own race and it was better," he said.
"You could see they had two cars pushing flat-out trying to make it difficult for me."
Saturday June 29
12.25pm: F2 Sprint
2pm: Austrian GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: Austrian GP Qualifying
5pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook
Sunday June 30
7.25am: F3 Feature Race
8.55am: F2 Feature Race
12:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Austrian GP build-up*
2pm: The AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Chequered Flag: Austrian GP reaction*
5pm: Ted's Notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
F1's triple-header continues with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. Watch every session live on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday's big race at 2pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership - No contract, cancel anytime
