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.
Live Standings
Summary
Live Text
Hamilton has been given a five-second penalty for tripping over the white line at pit entry. He's currently sixth and 2.3s off Sainz.
A lap later, Verstappen and Norris pit together and both move on to hards - but only after Verstappen leaves his pitbox right in front of Norris. Piastri is now the new, temporary race leader.
There's the expected penalty - a 10s penalty for Alonso for his collision with Zhou several laps back.
Russell and Sainz pit together, the Mercedes driver takes on another set of mediums and Sainz goes for hards, and they come out in fourth and fifth.
Piastri flags that Hamilton crossed the white line at pit entry and he is already under investigation for that by the stewards. The Mercedes driver could be in trouble here.
Hamilton pits from fifth and Perez follows him in. Both switch to the hards and Hamilton comes out in sixth and Perez is back out in ninth.
Alonso could be in hot water there. The Aston Martin driver barrelled into Turn 3 and into the side of Zhou's Sauber, punting him off the track before claiming 14th.
If the hards are really off it today, could that give McLaren a sniff of an opportunity for the win? Norris has two sets of mediums to Verstappen's one fresh set.
Verstappen's advantage at the front is 6s over Norris as he is already on lapping duty of Sargeant and Leclerc. Meanwhile, Norris is told over the radio that the performance on the hards is poor so he's reminded to look after these mediums.
With DRS, Hulkenberg and Magnussen both tear past Zhou, who is yet to stop. 13th and 14th for the Haas drivers now.
In comes Leclerc for the second time, fitting medium tyres on lap 17 of 71. He is once again in last and now has Verstappen approaching to lap him.
"F*** that," says Magnussen when told both Haas cars have to save tyres. Hulkenberg has passed back his team-mate for 14th.
Things keep getting worse for Leclerc. Having just stopped, Albon has made light work of the Ferrari driver for 18th.
As we tick on to lap 15, Verstappen leads Norris by 5.5s and Russell is third 3.5s further back.
Having stopped a lap earlier than Hulkenberg, Magnussen passes his Haas team-mate for 15th. No VAR to rule that move out!
Hulkenberg in eighth stops for hards and Alonso in 12th stops for more mediums. A strategy battle - things we love to see!
Sainz is told he's on Plan A. Ferrari and its plans, eh? He continues on in fourth and has wiggled out of DRS range from Hamilton behind.
Both drivers fit the hard tyres and will look to reach the chequered flag with no further stops.
Here come some early planned stops - Magnussen from 10th and Ricciardo from 12th.
I don't think Verstappen has needed to break a sweat over the opening 10 laps, as he is able to build his lead as and when he needs. Right now it is 4.3s but last time around he gained 1.2s.
Perez needs to find some pace and soon, with Hulkenberg lapping four-tenths on comparable pace and just 1.4s off the gearbox of the Red Bull.
Verstappen's lead is up to 3.1s over Norris, with another 2.4s splitting him to Russell. The tyre management phase is under way at the front, as teams are looking at the hard tyre runners (Zhou, Leclerc, Sargeant) who the gauge for how that tyre behaves.
Things are starting to get a little strung out at the moment but not in the battle between Piastri and Perez, with the McLaren driver pulling a stunning move around the outside of Turn 6 to move into sixth.
On the seventh lap Hamilton fights back at Sainz trying to regain fourth place, but he has to back out of a move at Turn 4.
A replay of the start shows Hamilton going over the outside kerb and keeping the place against Sainz. That could explain why Sainz has just breezed by Hamilton to take fourth place - and the stewards investigation is instantly over. Either way, it's been cleared up and on they go.
Hamilton and Sainz are now under investigation for that Turn 1 incident.
At the front, Verstappen's lead is up to 2s over Norris who in turn has 1.5s ahead of Russell who is still defending from Hamilton.
Hamilton and Sainz have been noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at the opening corner.
A very strong opening couple of laps from Hulkenberg and Magnussen, the pair up to 8th and 10th in the opening stages, with Ocon in the middle of a Haas sandwich.
Hamilton is attacking team-mate Russell for third! On lap three, with DRS, Hamilton charges by Russell for position. But then Russell regains the place with another DRS blast to Turn 4. So it is as you were.
Sargeant also stops as Leclerc fits a new front wing and a set of hard tyres. Both drivers will now be hoping for a safety car.
End of the first lap and DRS enabled but Verstappen is already 1.3s clear so Norris isn't able to get his rear wing open on the second lap.
In comes Leclerc after that early contact. He'll need a new front wing.
Contact for Leclerc and Piastri through Turn 1. They run in 7th and 8th.
Verstappen nails the start to blast clear of Norris and Russell. It appears Piastri and Sainz made contact at the apex of Turn 1 but both continue on.
Given it is such a short lap, Verstappen is already back on the starting grid and crawling towards the grid slots. Here we go...
All of the frontrunners are also starting on fresh, untouched tyres of the medium variety. It is a very level playing field. The formation lap is under way as Verstappen leads the pack around.
We can assume nobody will go for the softs today unless there is a late safety car or gamble in the closing laps.
Starting tyres: Just like the sprint, everyone on the grid is on mediums. Zhou is the only outlier, starting on hards from the pitlane.
By: Autosport Staff
