A strong start from Sergio Perez was not enough to upstage teammate Max Verstappen in the Formula 1 Sprint in Austria, with the championship leader pulling away to take a commanding 21-second victory.
Perez overcame a spirited effort from Nico Hulkenberg to take second, while Carlos Sainz overcame a brake-by-wire issue in qualifying to round out the podium.
Verstappen had out-qualified Perez to take pole, only for the latter to get a better second phase in the launch and take the lead into Turn 1 come race time. The two ran side-by-side up the straight into Turn 3 on a damp surface, with Verstappen running up the inside at the sharp right-hander to retake the lead and bring Hulkenberg, who had started fourth, into the equation.
The Haas was able to take second spot off Perez as Verstappen pulled clear, holding position until Lap 12 when the Red Bull was finally able to make a move. Verstappen was already 10 seconds up the road by this point, leaving the result in little doubt.
Sainz followed through with a pass on Hulkenberg shortly after, as did Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso. Dropping from second to sixth saw Haas call their driver into the pits to change from intermediates to slicks as the surface dried.
The move worked wonders, with the 189-race veteran retaining sixth to score some hard-earned points for Haas.
Stroll and Alonso battled hard over the closing stages for fourth spot, the former retaining the position at the chequered flag to attain five much-needed championship points.
Esteban Ocon and George Russell were the other drivers to finish in the points, the latter moving forward from 15th on the grid after a hydraulic issue forced him to miss Q2.
Lando Norris had impressively qualified third for the race but found himself failing to score points in ninth, one spot ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who was knocked out in Q1 and started 18th after having his best time deleted for a track limits violation.
As was the case with Hulkenberg, changing to slicks worked wonders for Mercedes after their poor qualifying results. The front five cars remained out on intermediates, with only 1-second separating Alonso and Hulkenberg, who was the first home of those who changed to slicks.
Third for Sainz was a welcome result for the Ferrari after he looked set to miss Q1 with brake issues early on. His team worked wonders on a repair, getting him out on track for one run as time ran low. He was able to upstage those who had run all session to top the timesheet on his sole run in Q1, eventually progressing to qualify fifth.
Formula 1 returns to action tonight with the Austrian Grand Prix beginning at 1.00 am. The race will be shown live on Sky Sport.
Header Image: BBC
