F1 Austrian GP Live Commentary and Updates – Sprint race & Qualifying
Saturday's action from the 11th round of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
Max Verstappen starts the sprint race on pole ahead of McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, in the third of six sprint race weekends in the F1 2024 season.
The sprint race starts at 11am BST before grand prix qualifying takes place at 3pm BST.
Live Text
Piastri on his second place: "I just didn't quite have the pace in the second half the race. I thought Max and Lando were going to pave the way for me at one point but not quite. We'll take the points, a really good haul compared to the teams around us."
Verstappen on his fight for the sprint race win: "It was a good first lap but once the DRS opens it is very hard to get out of it. It took a few laps and a few exciting battles as well. I think once we cleared the DRS I could do my own race and it looked better."
Verstappen also explains the clipping issue with his energy recovery was a problem at the start because he had to charge his battery while the McLarens were still in DRS range and attacking him, but once he was clear of them he could manage it better.
Here's the full report on the Austrian GP sprint race.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, leads Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
So, that's the sprint race in the record books, Verstappen's fifth straight sprint win in F1. He might not like the format but he's very strong in it - much like the rest of his results over the past few years.
With that, we'll take a quick breather ahead of qualifying which starts at 3pm BST. Until then, go well!
Good afternoon everybody, and welcome back to Autosport's live text coverage of Grand Prix qualifying from Austria's Red Bull Ring. The session will begin in a little over 15 minutes.
It probably hasn't escaped your attention that this is a sprint weekend, so we've already had a qualifying session that set the grid for this morning's 23-lap blast through the Styrian hills. It's almost time to do it all again, but will we get the same result?
One driver that will be hoping to avoid a repeat of yesterday's sprint qualifying session is Charles Leclerc. You may recall that he started tenth for the sprint today after he failed to get a timed lap in SQ3 due to an anti-stall problem in the pitlane. He'll be after a trouble-free time of it today.
Leclerc was in a punchy mood after the sprint, when he said: "I want to try something this afternoon to just maybe risk it of it being worse. But can it be worse than P7, P8? I don't think so. So I think there's probably more to gain by trying something. So that's probably the route I will take for this afternoon." Could Ferrari's 2022 Austria winner be one to watch?
Another driver perhaps with a point to prove is Lando Norris. On the front row yesterday, he briefly led the sprint race earlier with a bold move on Max Verstappen into Turn 3, but then “left the door open like an amateur” which resulted in him being bundled back to third. Here's what he had to say after his sprint disappointment.
The big lunge at Turn 3 that got Norris the lead earlier was well-judged, unlike the one Nico Hulkenberg put on Fernando Alonso that incurred a 10s penalty for the Haas driver. Funnily enough, one of the very earliest memories this writer has of watching F1 was a move at that exact same corner in 2001 by Juan Pablo Montoya on Michael Schumacher. It ended with both in the gravel.
Juan Pablo Montoya (COL) BMW Williams FW23 and Michael Schumacher (GER) Ferrari F1 2001
Photo by: Sutton Images
Talking of the 2001 race, that famously had Jos Verstappen briefly in the lead battle courtesy of a light fuel load on his Arrows. But Max Verstappen's father has been back in the news this weekend after that may be described as a storm in a teacup over Red Bull's reluctance to film him driving one of its old F1 cars in the legends parade. Max Verstappen remarked on it earlier, when he said the latest row engulfing his dad and team boss Christian Horner "could have been avoided". More on that here.
No risk of rain for this session, the timing screens inform us. And no surprises there, with air temperatures at a glorious 31.6 °C and
track temperatures of 46.8 °C.
The five drivers who fell at the first hurdle in SQ1 yesterday were Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Alexander Albon and Zhou Guanyu. Will any of those face a galling repeat in Q1 today?
Logan Sargeant made it through SQ1 yesterday and was due to start ahead of Albon even before the Thai driver made set-up changes that prompted the usual Williams team leader to start from the pits. Even with that handicap, Albon recovered to 18th in the sprint ahead of both Saubers - but of course didn't get any points for doing so. Perhaps though, it may mean he is a little more tuned-in to his set-up tweaks than he might otherwise have been and could reap rewards in qualifying today.
We are under way for Q1 here in Austria. Unlike yesterday's SQ1 and SQ2 segments, where mediums were used, everyone here is out on softs.
A 1m06.054s is the first time on the board from Verstappen, which puts him top. For reference, his sprint pole time was 1m04.686s, so plenty of ground to find as the track rubbers in.
Perhaps our prediction that Albon being a bit more in tune with his set-up for running it in the sprint may be realised. He goes third, behind the two Red Bulls, ahead of the Alpine and Aston Martin drivers.
Here come the Ferrari and McLaren bunch, and they shuffle Verstappen's previous benchmark down to fifth. Leclerc is the new pace-setter on 1m05.901s, ahead of Norris, Piastri and Sainz.
That's a good effort from Yuki Tsunoda, who dropped it over the kerb at Turn 9 on his final SQ1 flyer and ended up heading into the final corner backwards. His SQ2 elimination meant we didn't get to see him on the softs yesterday, but here he's punched in an early lap to go fourth, ahead of Sainz.
The two Mercedes drivers leave their first runs until last. As such, they're currently in the drop zone with Alonso, Gasly and Stroll. What can Hamilton and Russell manage here?
It's a fastest time for Russell - he replaces Leclerc at the top of the times with a 1m05.614s. Hamilton is seventh, pushing Verstappen back a further place.
The Mercedes drivers posting their times push Bottas and Sargeant into the drop zone, along with Alonso, Gasly and Stroll. Can the Aston Martin drivers save themselves from a Q1 double exit?
Russell's spell at the top is short-lived. Verstappen takes top spot, but then is shuffled back to second by a flyer from Sainz who at 1m05.263s is the quickest man so far. Leclerc fires into third.
Gasly responds to get himself out of danger for the time being in 12th, while Alonso springs up to ninth. Stroll improves too, but it's only enough for 16th ahead of Hulkenberg, Sargeant, Zhou and Bottas.
As Bottas gets himself out of the drop zone and into 13th, Hamilton is now under threat in 16th spot. Tsunoda is on the bubble in 15th after having the first laptime of the session deleted for track limits at Turn 6.
The McLaren pair had started to drift down the order, but any concerns in the papaya camp are allayed as Piastri fires into second and Norris into fourth. Sainz remains on the top of the times, with Verstappen third.
"We need to do another one please," Norris is informed over the radio. Even though he's fourth, the team is taking no chances.
Out go the drivers for one final crack at it. The Mercedes duo are the only ones who have only had one previous flying lap attempt, which in part explains why Hamilton currently languishes in 16th. Stroll, Hulkenberg, Sargeant and Zhou are also looking for something big to escape the drop.
Into sixth now goes Hamilton, with Russell also improving but only to eighth as Ocon slots in between them.
Everybody aside from Sainz, Piastri and Verstappen is out on track now trying to secure themselves a place in Q2. Now or never time.
Here comes the chequered flag - it's not enough for Stroll, who is out. Who will join him?
Alonso sneaks through as it stands in 15th, pushing Albon out. Can Bottas knock out the Spaniard though?
Bottas doesn't improve, so Alonso is safe - just, by 0.080s - in 15th. Those to fall in Q1 are Albon, Stroll, Bottas, Sargeant and Zhou.
"Ah, I'm just slow mate," was Hamilton's assessment after setting a time that turned out to only be good for seventh. He was usurped by Magnussen, who was an impressive fifth for Haas.
Despite not going out for their final runs, Sainz, Piastri and Verstappen were not usurped at the top of the timesheets, and nor was Norris in fourth. Behind Magnussen in fifth were Leclerc, Hamilton, Tsunoda and Ricciardo in an encouraging session for RB, while Ocon rounded out the top 10.
Russell, Perez, Hulkenberg, Gasly and Alonso will join the aforementioned group in Q2. Intriguingly, Sainz wasn't the outright fastest driver in any of the three sectors - that honour went to Norris, Piastri and Verstappen - but the Ferrari man did the best job overall.
Here we go then as Q2 gets going. The Alpine pair are joined on the track from the off by Sainz.
Leclerc is also out for the start of the session, but the remaining 11 cars are still in their pitboxes for now.
By: Autosport Staff
