Max Verstappen was untouchable once more with victory in the sprint race for the Austrian Grand Prix but only after a feisty exchange with his teammate, Sergio Pérez, whom he ultimately comfortably beat into second. The Ferrari of Carlos Sainz claimed third.
The Red Bull pair tussled from the off, Pérez leaping from the line and squeezing up the inside of Verstappen into turn one, the cars coming dangerously close to clashing.
The Dutchman was clearly unhappy. “The exit of turn one, that was not nice,” he said. “It could have been a really big shunt, we need to have a chat about it, that is not OK.”
He did take the place back at turn three with an equally aggressive dive up the inside forcing Pérez wide but did discuss it with his teammate as soon as they climbed from their cars.
Pérez explained he was unsighted on the exit of turn one and Verstappen accepted his position. “We spoke about it and when the moment happens you don’t know why, after the race we talked and it’s all good,” he said.
Doubtless he was also assuaged by extending his championship lead over Pérez to 70 points and demonstrating a fearsome pace that puts him in the very best position for Sunday’s race, where he will start from pole.
The sprint was a far more vigorous and entertaining affair than usual, enlivened by opening in wet conditions but with drivers in the midfield taking a chance on dry tyres at the halfway point.
While Verstappen hared off to the flag, behind him with nothing to lose having started in 15th, George Russell took a gamble on taking dry tyres for his Mercedes on lap 17 and Lewis Hamilton who had begun in 18th, followed a lap later, looking for the major gains of a drying track.
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Hamilton vied thrillingly with Charles Leclerc and Valtteri Bottas for 12th place, still way beyond the points but Russell who had thrown his all at it, saw his gamble work as he made it to eighth to take one point, with Hamilton finishing 10th.
Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso were in fourth and fifth for Aston Martin. Nico Hülkenberg in sixth for Haas and Esteban Ocon in seventh for Alpine.
