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Liveblog Sprint race during the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix weekend

F1 LIVE | Sprint race during the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix weekend

1 July 2023 at 14:30
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  • Toby McLuskie

It is time for the second sprint race of the season. The venue this time is the Red Bull Ring, where Max Verstappen secured pole position earlier on Saturday by driving the fastest time in the Sprint Shootout. The starting grid for the Austrian sprint race features an unusual second row of starters.

F1 LIVE | Sprint race: Austrian Grand Prix

 

Sergio Perez was on target and placed second, starting alongside teammate Max Verstappen on the front row of the grid. Behind them, it was Lando Norris (McLaren) and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas F1) who were surprisingly faster than the Aston Martins, Ferraris and Mercedes.

Mercedes and Ferrari disappoint

The third row of the grid was originally supposed to consist of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, but the latter received a three-place grid penalty two hours before the start of the sprint race for obstructing McLaren driver Oscar Piastri. As a result, the Ferrari driver from Monaco will not start sixth, but ninth. Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon benefited.

For Mercedes, the Sprint Shootout was one to quickly forget. Lewis Hamilton got no further than eighteenth, while George Russell retired midway through qualifying with hydraulic problems. The younger of the two Britons will start in fifteenth place.

What will the weather do?

It is still uncertain whether the sprint race will take place on a dry Red Bull Ring. Most showers seem to have left the circuit's surroundings by now, but in the Alps, nothing is as treacherous as the weather. There is still a chance of a cloudburst, according to the forecast.