Formula One heads to the Red Bull Ring for round 11 of the 2024 season as Spielberg hosts the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend.
Max Verstappen won for the third time in four races to win last time out in Spain, holding off a late charge from Lando Norris to extend his lead in the F1 world championship standings. He now leads Norris, up to second ahead of Charles Leclerc, by 69 points.
Norris was frustrated with second place in a quick McLaren car in Barcelona, while Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton picked up his first podium of the season with a third-place finish.
Austria will host the third sprint race of the season this weekend. Verstappen won both races last year and is a four-time winner of Red Bull’s home race.
Follow live updates from the Austrian Grand Prix with The Independent
How does the sprint race weekend work?
The new order of play sees the ‘sprint qualifying’ take place on Friday afternoon instead of a second practice session, with traditional qualifying in its usual spot on Saturday afternoon.
It means there will be just one practice session over the course of the weekend, while Saturday is no longer designated as a ‘sprint day’.
The result of the Saturday morning sprint – a 100km dash, roughly a third of the distance of the grand prix – will not impact the grid for Sunday Points will be awarded to the top-eight, as was the case in 2023.
The sprint race result will not have any impact on the grand prix qualifying on Saturday nor the grand prix on Sunday.
Kieran Jackson29 June 2024 09:48
Start times this weekend in Austria:
(All times BST)
- Sprint race: 11am
- Qualifying: 3pm
Kieran Jackson29 June 2024 09:45
F1 SPRINT RACE IN AUSTRIA!
Good morning and welcome to live coverage of the Austrian Grand Prix with The Independent!
Max Verstappen starts on pole for the sprint at Red Bull’s home track with Lando Norris alongside him on the front row and Oscar Piastri in third.
Following the sprint at 11am, we have qualifying for tomorrow’s grand prix at 3pm – so a busy day in store at the Red Bull Ring!
Kieran Jackson29 June 2024 09:45
Max Verstappen puts row between father and Christian Horner aside to claim Austria sprint race pole
George Russell qualified fourth for Mercedes, two places and two tenths clear of team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Kieran Jackson28 June 2024 17:35
Lando Norris in second:
“Reasonably good to be honest, never got quite comfortable, I’m happy with that. It must have been a nice lap from Max, good position for the race tomorrow.”
Kieran Jackson28 June 2024 16:56
Lewis Hamilton:
“I wasn’t in the mix at all, the whole session was pretty disastrous. Practice was good, car felt good, not in a position for pole but yeah, some very bad laps.”
“I don’t think overtaking is mega here, we’ll give it our best. It’s usually not such an eventful race, the focus is on a better qualifying tomorrow.”
A disappointing afternoon for Hamilton, who starts P6 in the sprint tomorrow.
Kieran Jackson28 June 2024 16:44
Max Verstappen on sprint pole:
“It was great to be first here, in front of home fans and home grand prix! A good day, nice to drive the car, it was well balanced, everything has been working really. Good start to the weekend, a lot of things to do.
“I’m not too stressed about tomorrow, will just enjoy my evening!”
Kieran Jackson28 June 2024 16:35
TOP-10 ON GRID FOR SPRINT RACE:
10. Charles Leclerc (no time)
Kieran Jackson28 June 2024 16:27
Max Verstappen:
“Yeah not bad, that lap was a bit quick. All good!”
Kieran Jackson28 June 2024 16:19