Max Verstappen survives SOAKING Austrian GP sprint as shock names pick up points

Pérez, Verstappen, Sprintrace, Austria — Photo: © LAT Images

Austrian Grand Prix

Verstappen survives SOAKING Austrian GP sprint as shock names pick up points

Verstappen was victorious yet again as changeable weather saw pit stops cause chaos

Joe Ellis

Saturday 1 July 2023 17:10 Updated: 19:49

Max Verstappen proved his expertise in wet conditions as he stormed to victory in the sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix.

The championship leader actually lost the lead to his team-mate, Sergio Perez, into Turn 1 but quickly regained it and surged into the distance.

Nico Hulkenberg took advantage of the Red Bull squabble to pass Perez but he soon started to plummet down the grid.

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As the track dried from intermediate to slick conditions, many drivers opted to pit for new tyres and started to try and battle towards the points.

None of them could catch the Red Bull duo, who finished one and two ahead of Carlos Sainz while the Aston Martin pair of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso completed the top five.

Hulkenberg fought back on medium tyres to score points in sixth with Esteban Ocon beating George Russell to seventh by nine-thousandths of a second.

No team orders

For the first time in several races, Perez looked to challenge Verstappen on track and even took the lead at Turn 1 of the sprint.

But there were no signs of team orders from Red Bull as Verstappen charged back down the inside into Turn 3 and then completed the move at Turn 4.

All that chaos opened the door for Hulkenberg to slip past the Mexican in a mightily impressive performance for Haas.

The pair both vented their thoughts on the battle over team radio before they came together in Parc Ferme for a quick debrief.

Awesome Albon

Alex Albon is the feel-good story of F1 at the moment after a superb result at the Canadian GP last time out.

11th on the grid in the sprint wasn't exactly what he was hoping for but a stellar start and opening lap saw him jump up to seventh.

And once he gets in a position, it's difficult to find a way past the Williams in a straight line which yet again proved impressive in keeping much faster cars behind.

The struggle came when everyone made the switch to dry tyres and DRS was enabled and he failed to score come the end of the 24 laps.