F1 Austrian GP Live Commentary and Updates – Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2024 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen starts from pole position after taking both the sprint race pole and win earlier this weekend at the Red Bull Ring.
Lando Norris will once again join the reigning F1 world champion on the front row of the grid, but this time he is without McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri right behind him, after the Australian was demoted from third to seventh for exceeding track limits in qualifying.
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Summary
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Norris is within DRS range of Verstappen at the start of lap 55. Is this is chance to strike?
Hamilton pits, serves his penalty from earlier, and comes out in sixth place on medium tyres.
Norris has cleared the lapped cars and is 1.1s back now. The race is on!
Leclerc comes into the pits yet again! Four stops and he's on medium tyres. He returns to the track in 15th.
Verstappen locks up at Turn 4! Norris is under 2s behind but he's got two cars to lap to get on to the back of the Dutch driver.
Verstappen and Norris pit together, but it is a slow stop for the Red Bull driver! Verstappen is on used medium tyres while Norris is on fresh mediums and the gap is down to 2.5s.
And this has got more difficult still, as Gasly takes Leclerc and sets off to try and unlap himself from Norris.
Norris goes wide at the exit of Turn 3, which allows Verstappen to push his lead to 7.3s despite saying "his tyres are f*****".
Having climbed to 11th, Leclerc is now finding himself under pressure from Gasly, with Ocon not far behind. Points, while so close, could be more difficult now.
With the leaders extending their stints in order to make the two-stopper work, they are all lapping slower than the backmarkers on the three-stop strategy. So we have this curious situation of Leclerc, lapped, stuck behind Norris and the Haas pair, also lapped, stuck behind Verstappen.
Piastri bolts by Hamilton for a promoted third place, making the move into Turn 3 and defending still with DRS towards Turn 4.
Russell's tyres fell of the cliff on the last lap as cars were unlapping themselves behind him. Ferrari then calls in Sainz for his second stop and he drops to sixth on mediums.
Russell pits from third, ditches his mediums for fresh hards, and comes out in sixth place.
Verstappen has just lapped Hulkenberg, Magnussen and Ricciardo so that can answer some of the time lost given Norris is still yet to lap that trio.
Much like Hamilton earlier, Albon now has a five-second penalty for crossing the line on pit entry.
On lap 44 Verstappen's lead is down to 6.4s. Norris is making inroads, but how much is lapped traffic also a factor in this fight?
Alpine calls time on the intra-team battle, calling Gasly into the pits. It's a slow 3s stop but he has fresh mediums to take him to the end - in theory!
Norris took seven-tenths of a second out of Verstappen's lead on the last lap. That Red Bull really isn't having a good time on the hard tyres. The worse news is he's only got another fresh set of hards to run - or a risky used medium.
Duelling Alpines as Gasly uses DRS to pull alongside on the run to Turn 4 before completing the moves at the sweeping Turn 6. Both are currently in the top eight and this looks far from over.
"I don't know what's happening, the tyres are suddenly really bad," Verstappen reports. His lead is still 8s on Norris but he isn't making any gains compared to in the first stint.
Now Magnussen, from ninth, stops for more hards of his own. Expect Hulkenberg to enter the pits on the next tour.
It has so far been a positive day for Ricciardo. He stops from 10th for another set of hard tyres and continues in 16th.
Piastri is creeping up to the rear of Hamilton in the fight for fifth, with the gap down to 1.5s, which shows both McLarens have pace at this mid-point of the race.
In comes Alonso for his second stop. He serves his 10-second penalty and a scrubbed set of hards are fitted to his Aston Martin.
Backwards goes Alonso, as Ocon and Gasly make their way past. Ocon assists Gasly over the kerb rather than losing a position himself.
Having told Leclerc that he was projected to finish in the points, he has just been stopped for a third time! Sargeant is the only other driver to have stopped more than once. Used mediums go onto the Ferrari.
Verstappen is cleared of any penalty for that pitlane incident with Norris. So it is as you were.
Norris pumps in a 1m09.400s to set the fastest lap of the race but it only earns him 0.055s into Verstappen's lead. The pair are largely lapping at the same pace currently.
"He's got to pass Fernando," Gasly says of team-mate Ocon. Alonso currently occupies 11th.
Still no news on the Verstappen-Norris pitlane incident that is under investigation. The Red Bull driver's advantage is up to 7.8s so he's close to negating any penalty, even if he did get one.
A five-second penalty for Perez. At present, he would drop one position to Hulkenberg, but he is close to negating that sanction already.
Uh oh. Maybe not so much progress for Perez, as he is now under investigation for speeding in the pitlane. The one time he didn't need to find some pace!
"This is good Charles, we are projected to come to the points, even without a safety car."
Leclerc is currently 18th.
With those first pitstops out of the way, Verstappen leads by 6.9s from Norris (both on hards) with Russell a further 3.4s back but on mediums. Then comes Sainz, Hamilton, Piastri and Perez.
Zhou finally stops from 18th, ditching his hard tyres for some fresh mediums. All drivers have now stopped at least once.
"You have to let me know when I have to upshift at the end of the straight," Verstappen says over team radio. Is he managing a gearbox issue?
Hamilton has apologised to his team for his unplanned white line trip and Mercedes boss Wolff gives him a motivational message: "Lewis there is everything to play for here, everything to play for."
Progress for Perez. Another poor day for the Mexican but he's now at least clear of both Haas drivers into seventh. Is that an achievement in a Red Bull though?
The stewards are looking into the unsafe pitstop release of Verstappen from his near-miss with Norris.
Piastri pits from his elevated position and comes out in sixth, around four seconds off Hamilton with his overhanging penalty.
By: Autosport Staff
