Verstappen continues Red Bull DOMINANCE with strong Austria FP1

Jay Winter
Friday 30 June 2023 16:30 - Updated: 16:30

Max Verstappen continued to show his dominance, finishing top of the timing sheets in FP1 at Red Bull's home race with a 1:05.742, two-tenths ahead of Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc despite being on medium tyres.

Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton finished the session in fourth, half a second off of rival Verstappen despite being on soft tyres.

Red Bull's Sergio Perez returned to the F1 grabbing finishing fifth fastest on a set of mediums after being unable to show up to paddock yesterday due to illness.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was reported to be "happy" with his car's setup as they hunt for their sixth podium of the season. The Spaniard's team-mate Lance Stroll finished sixth with Alonso coming home eighth both on medium tyres.

Alpine's struggles

The reports and rumours that Alpine would struggle to perform at Spielberg may turn out to be true as Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finished 18th and 19th just days after Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds' investment in the French team.

The drivers started off the session focusing on longer stints on medium and hard tyres before putting on fresh slicks to simulate some flying qualifying laps.

Austria FP1 final results

1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull] - 1:05.983

2. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari] - +0.241s

3. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari] - +0.270s

4. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes] - +0.509s

5. Sergio Perez [Red Bull] - +0.520s

6. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin] - +0.598s

7. Kevin Magnussen [Haas] - +0.755s

8. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin] - +0.914s

9. George Russell [Mercedes] - +0.954s

10. Zhou Guanyu [Alfa Romeo] - +1.038s

11. Alexander Albon [Williams] - +1.052

12. Oscar Piastri [McLaren] - +1.067s

13. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas] - +1.104s

14. Valtteri Bottas [Alfa Romeo] - +1.105s

15. Yuki Tsunoda [AlphaTauri] - +1.243s

16. Nyck de Vries [AlphaTauri] - +1.275s

17. Logan Sargeant [Williams] - +1.276

18. Esteban Ocon [Alpine] - +1.460

19. Pierre Gasly [Alpine] - +1.545

20. Lando Norris [McLaren] - +1.626

READ MORE: F1 Team Principals: Who are the men in charge in 2023?