Sprint Results 2023 Austrian F1 Grand Prix

Event: Austrian F1 Grand Prix
Track: Red Bull Ring circuit

Weather: wet/dry 21.7°C
Tarmac: wet/dry  36.3°C
Humidity: 30%
Wind: 2.5 m/s SW
Pressure: 943.5 bar

Hello all and welcome back to the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Sprint race. After yesterday's lone practice session and qualifying, the Sprint Shootout took place earlier today, determining the grid order for this exciting race. Red Bull Racing thrilled their home fans by securing a front row lockout, with Max Verstappen starting from pole position alongside his teammate Sergio Perez.

McLaren's Lando Norris narrowly missed out on a front row start and will line up in third, showcasing his impressive form throughout the weekend. The Haas driver, Nico Hulkenberg, has also been impressive and secured a fourth-place start for the Sprint race.

Earlier in the day, there were showers, but the track has largely dried up, although a few showers are starting to drop again. This raises the question of whether we will see drivers opting for wet weather tires at the start of the race.

Now, let's take a look at what happened to Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Mercedes. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc will start the Sprint from fifth and ninth, respectively, for Ferrari. Sainz overcame a brake-by-wire issue that threatened his participation in the Shootout, while Leclerc struggled and ended up sixth. However, Leclerc received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri, pushing him back to ninth on the grid.

Mercedes had a challenging weekend, with Lewis Hamilton starting from 18th due to traffic issues and a deleted lap time. George Russell made it to Q2 but faced a hydraulic issue, resulting in a 15th-place start. The Williams mechanics have been working tirelessly to fix his car.

Aston Martin had a relatively quiet weekend so far, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll lining up in seventh and eighth positions, respectively. They have shown consistent performance over one lap, and it remains to be seen if they can showcase their best form over the longer distances during the Sprint and the race tomorrow.

Several drivers have impressed throughout the weekend. Haas had both drivers, Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, in the top qualifying session. Hulkenberg secured a fourth-place start, while Magnussen will start in 10th. Alex Albon continues to impress for Williams after making it into Q3, starting 11th. He will surely have his sights set on scoring points this weekend.

Pirelli has provided the C3 hard, C4 medium, and C5 soft tires for this weekend's race. The choice of tires for the Sprint is crucial. In dry conditions, many drivers are likely to opt for the mediums as no one has a fresh set of soft tires. However, using the old soft compound could be risky over the 24 laps, although it could be worth it for drivers at the back of the field considering the cooler temperatures.

For those new to the Sprint format, it is essentially a 100 km dash consisting of 24 laps at the Red Bull Ring. It has no impact on tomorrow's race, and only the top eight drivers will score points. The winner will receive a maximum of eight points, with no additional points awarded for the fastest lap. Expect fierce battles throughout the field, as even the solitary point for eighth place could prove crucial in the championship fight. The risk of rain for the Sprint race stands at 30%.

As the formation lap begins, Max Verstappen leads the pack to warm up their tires in the wet conditions. Spray can be seen coming up from the cars as they navigate the track. Perez locks up at Turn 3 and runs wide, indicating the challenging track conditions.

Verstappen holds onto the lead as Perez initially gets ahead but is quickly overtaken by the Dutch driver at Turn 3. Hulkenberg takes advantage of the battle and manages to pass Perez at Turn 4. Meanwhile, Norris experiences a drop in position, falling to 10th.

On lap 2, Verstappen starts to pull away from Hulkenberg, while Stroll and Alonso make strong starts, climbing up to fifth and sixth, respectively. Russell and Hamilton find themselves in 12th and 13th positions, trying to make progress through the field.

Perez expresses frustration with Verstappen, believing that his teammate pushed him off the track. Norris, after losing places at the start, looks to regain positions and sets his sights on overtaking Leclerc for ninth.

On lap 5, Russell is informed that the rain will continue. Leclerc attempts to pass Ocon for eighth, but the Alpine driver puts up a strong defense, fighting to hold onto the final points-paying position.

Verstappen continues to extend his lead, with Hulkenberg in second and Perez struggling to catch up. Sainz is closing in on Perez from fourth position.

Hamilton starts to close the gap to Russell, with the Mercedes driver ultimately overtaking him for 12th after a thrilling battle. Verstappen's lead over Hulkenberg reaches over seven seconds. Perez now faces pressure from Sainz for third place.

Hamilton engages in a battle with Magnussen, ultimately passing him for 12th at Turn 7. Verstappen's lead over Hulkenberg remains substantial, and both Perez and Sainz are closing in on the German driver.

Hulkenberg and Perez engage in a fierce fight, but Perez successfully overtakes him for second at Turn 7. Sainz follows suit and passes Hulkenberg for third at Turn 4. Norris is pressuring Leclerc for ninth place, but the Monegasque driver defends his position.

Verstappen's lead continues to grow, and Perez is now under threat from Sainz. The battle intensifies further back, with Hamilton closing in on Russell for 12th. The German driver Hulkenberg decides to pit, followed by Hamilton.

As Hamilton and Russell engage in their own battle, Albon and Leclerc also make their pit stops. Stroll believes the track is still suitable for intermediates. Leclerc rejoins the track ahead of Hamilton but faces pressure from the Mercedes driver【0†source】.

Hamilton successfully overtakes Leclerc for 13th position. At this point, it seems unlikely that other drivers will change tires. Russell sets the fastest lap, but it may be too late to make significant progress.

Hamilton closes in on Albon and successfully overtakes him for 11th place. Alonso now challenges his teammate Stroll for fourth position, signaling a change in their previous agreement not to fight each other. Albon loses positions to Hamilton, Leclerc, and Piastri. Hamilton overtakes Leclerc for 13th.

On the final lap, Hulkenberg overtakes Norris for seventh and immediately puts pressure on Ocon for sixth. The drivers on dry tires clearly have an advantage over the rest of the field, but it proves to be too late for others to make a significant impact. Russell overtakes Norris for eighth place.

Max Verstappen secures a dominant victory in the Austrian Sprint race, delighting his fans in the stands. He finishes a remarkable 21 seconds ahead of Perez, resulting in a Red Bull Racing one-two finish. The team extends its lead at the top of the championship.

Russell's impressive performance on softer tires allows him to climb from 10th to eighth on the final lap, narrowly missing out on seventh place against Ocon. It was a remarkable display of skill from the determined Mercedes driver.

Carlos Sainz deserves recognition for his third-place finish in the Sprint race. He has had an outstanding weekend so far and will start from third position in tomorrow's race. If he continues this form, he could secure his first podium of the season.

The latter part of the race revolved around tire strategy, with some drivers switching to dry tires while others chose to stay on intermediates. The biggest winners were Hulkenberg and Russell. Hulkenberg struggled with degrading intermediate tires but benefited from a great call by Haas to switch him to mediums, allowing him to secure sixth place. Russell was the first to make the switch and made remarkable progress, overtaking several cars and finishing eighth.

Unfortunately, Norris faced challenges on the first lap and lost positions. He also experienced an anti-stall issue at the start, which may have hindered his ability to challenge the Red Bulls. In the final lap, he lost the final points-paying position to Russell. However, he starts fifth in tomorrow's race, providing another opportunity to score points.

Williams may regret their decision to pit Albon from sixth position, as it dropped him out of the points. Hamilton, Leclerc, and Piastri overtook him, and although he starts 10th tomorrow, it may feel like a missed opportunity for points in the Sprint race.

Aston Martin had a strong day, with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso securing fourth and fifth positions, respectively. They battled for position towards the end, deviating from their earlier agreement not to fight each other. This solid outing helps Aston Martin close the gap to second-placed Mercedes in the constructors' championship.

That wraps up the Sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen delivered a dominant performance, securing victory ahead of Sergio Perez. Verstappen will start on pole position for tomorrow's race, aiming for his fourth Austrian GP win.

Classification 2023 Austrian Sprint

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