Max Verstappen holds off Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to cruise to sprint victory
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
ByEurosport
Updated 09/07/2022 at 15:53 GMT
The Red Bull driver was in imperious form as he dominated from the start to win the sprint race ahead of the two challenging Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who spent more time battling with each other for second and third place respectively. Verstappen will look to complete a perfect weekend with a win on Sunday.
Max Verstappen
Image credit: Getty Images
Max Verstappen held off the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to win the sprint race of the Austrian Grand Prix.
Starting on pole, the Red Bull driver led from the start and collected maximum points ahead of his start at the front of the grid on Sunday.
The race got off to an awkward start as Alpine’s Fernando Alonso was left static on the first formation lap, with his tyre blankets still on. Initially he was forced into the pit lane to restart his involvement, but his team brought him back into the garage for an unspecified problem.
Zhou Guanyu then suffered a problem on the formation lap as he reported, ‘Engine switched off, guys,’ which left him to start from the pits as he came back from his awful crash last weekend at Silverstone.
At the off, Verstappen got away well from Leclerc and Sainz, leaving the Ferrari pair to battle for second and third and allowing the Dutchman an unfettered run at the full eight points on offer. Ultimately Leclerc would hold onto second despite regularly challenges.
Drive of the day went to Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez, who dropped down to 13th overnight, but battled back into fifth behind Mercedes' George Russell.
A late challenge from Russell’s stablemate, Lewis Hamilton, on Mick Schumacher earned him eighth place and the final point on offer. He had slipped to 11th after being clipped by Pierre Gasly at the open. Hamilton grew frustrated, claiming ‘the card ahead has gone off four times’ as he pressured the Haas man.
Schumacher and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo will be investigated for starting infringements before the race tomorrow.
Ferrari whittled down the lead in the constructors’ championship but Leclerc was looking forward to Sunday’s race.
“We are good,” he told his team. “We can take them tomorrow.”
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article