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Formula 1 Austrian GP

F1 Austrian GP Live Commentary and Updates – Sprint Quali & Race

Saturday's action from the ninth round of the 2023 Formula 1 season

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-23, Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-23, Nyck de Vries, AlphaTauri AT04, Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT04, out of the pits

F1 pushes on with round nine this weekend and its second sprint race of the season at the Austrian GP.

Saturday has become effectively a standalone event, with sprint qualifying at 11am BST followed by the sprint race at 3:30pm BST.

Max Verstappen, who took pole position for the grand prix on Friday, leads the drivers’ standings by 69 points from Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.

Live Standings

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Summary

  • Summary
    • Verstappen has won the Austrian GP sprint from Perez on a drying Red Bull Ring
    • The top five drivers all remained on intermediate tyres
    • Hulkenberg recovered to sixth on slick tyres as Russell scored an unlikely point for Mercedes
  • Leaderboard
    1. Verstappen, Red Bull
    2. Perez, Red Bull
    3. Sainz, Ferrari
    4. Stroll, Aston Martin
    5. Alonso, Aston Martin
    6. Hulkenberg, Haas
    7. Ocon, Alpine
    8. Russell, Mercedes
    9. Norris, McLaren
    10. Hamilton, Mercedes

Live Text

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Good morning and welcome to the Red Bull Ring for sprint qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix.
There was significant rain that fell on Friday night and throughout the morning, but this has now abated, with a dry line seeming to appear on the track. Even still, intermediate tyres appear to be the way to go for the start of SQ1.

Picking up on a couple of threads from Friday, despite Sergio Perez's fourth Q3 miss in succession, Red Bull boss Christian Horner has dismissed speculation that the Mexican's seat is at risk. 

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/red-bull-quashes-talk-that-perezs-f1-seat-at-risk/10489836/

And - rather appropriately for today - Mercedes and McLaren will assist the FIA by testing new wet weather "mudguards" at Silverstone next weekend.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/fia-to-trial-wet-weather-f1-wheel-arches-in-silverstone-test/10489724/

But before we go any further, we must pay tribute to former Force India deputy team principal, Robert Fernley, who has died, at the age of 70. 

The thoughts of everyone at Autosport are with his family and friends.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/former-force-india-f1-boss-fernley-dies-aged-70/10489741/
Returning to the on-track action, we are now just five minutes away from the sprint qualifying session, with Verstappen looking to continue his dominance of the 2023 season.
At Aston Martin, Stroll out-qualified Alonso for only the second time this season on Friday. Alonso will be looking to 'right' this in the coming session.
One minute to go, then the lights will go green for SQ1. The traffic queue is forming at the end of the pitlane!
Green flag
SQ1 is go! The only cars on intermediate tyres are the two Williams. All other drivers are on soft slicks.
No rain is forecast for the next 20 minutes, so the track should improve rapidly.
Where the track has been declared wet, drivers are able to use whichever compound they want, rather than being forced to run the medium compound in this segment. 

However, Magnussen and Verstappen have both elected to run the yellow-walled medium tyre regardless.
Quote
Sainz has reported a "brake by wire" failure on his Ferrari. 

After waiting for a reply, he is told to "box, box". As he pits, smoke is visible form the rear of his car.
Stopwatch
The times begin to come in but, as we said, the times will drop and drop and drop. De Vries now tops the pile with a 1m08.898s.
Verstappen's first time was deleted for - you guessed it - a track limits violation!
Stopwatch
Verstappen returns to the top with his second effort but he is quickly pushed back with Norris not at the top and the Dutchman P7. 

Norris' time is a 1m07.755s.
Rain
We're already halfway through SQ1 and rain is beginning to appear on the lens of the helicopter camera. For Gasly, Bottas, Zhou, Sargeant and Sainz, that is not good news at all!
Sainz remains in the garage as we tick into the final five minutes of the session.
Stopwatch
Red Bull now take to the top with Perez leading the way from team-mate Verstappen. A 1m07.085s is the current benchmark, although Perez was on soft rubber, and Verstappen medium.
Hulkenberg goes to P2, falling one-tenth shy of Perez at the top, just as Piastri is blocked by Leclerc as the Ferrari driver attempted to return to the pits.
Stopwatch
All change at the top, as Hamilton and Alonso find speed - Hamilton leads the way with a 1m06.624s!
Sainz finally returns to the track with 90 seconds remaining. He's on an old set of soft tyres and is currently last.
Hamilton's session-topping time has been deleted!
A poor effort from Leclerc on medium tyres leaves him P16! One minute remains for him to save his session.
Checkered flag
The chequered flag falls
Leclerc improves to eighth but he's dropping like a stone as others cross the line.
Stopwatch
Sainz puts in a heroic effort to go fastest of all with a 1m06.187s!
Hamilton is out! He got stuck in traffic on his lap and returned to the pits. He will start from P18!
Leclerc survives in P15 by the skin of his teeth!
Zhou, Piastri, Hamilton, Bottas and Sargeant are the five that drop out in an absolutely frantic session!
But more bad news for Mercedes, as Russell reports a "hydraulic failure" after returning to the pits. He was P7 in SQ1.
Escaping notice was Perez. The Red Bull driver ended that session in P14, avoiding a humiliating exit by less that one-tenth!
For a brief moment - before the 10-minute SQ2 begins - a word for Haas. Hulkenberg was P3 in the opening session with Magnussen P6.
Green flag
And we go again! SQ2 has a lot to live up to!
14 of the 15 drivers have now taken to the track on soft tyres but Russell remains in the garage following his reporting of a hydraulic issue.
Stopwatch
Verstappen sets the first time of the session with a 1m05.624s effort. Norris is second - four-tenths back.
But here come the Aston Martin duo, with Alonso second and Stroll going fourth. Russell is still stuck in the garage.
With his first effort, Leclerc is still struggling for pace and is P14 while his Ferrari team-mate, Sainz, has put his car into P2.

By: Autosport Staff

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