The sprint race on Saturday gave fans a taste of what was to come in the FORMULA 1 QATAR AIRWAYS AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX 2024, but no one could have predicted the drama that would unfold around the Red Bull Ring.
Max Verstappen had a strong getaway from pole position while Lando Norris came under pressure from George Russell. Russell looked around the outside of turn three but was too far back to launch an overtake. Further back, Lewis Hamilton managed to overtake Carlos Sainz in the first corner but caught the attention of the stewards for doing so off the circuit. The Mercedes teammates battled in the opening laps, briefly swapping positions on the third lap. The Mercedes pit wall told Hamilton to give a position back to Sainz a few laps in to stave off the threat of a penalty.
Back at the first corner, Charles Leclerc hit the rear tyre of Oscar Piastri. The Ferrari suffered front wing damage. At turn four, Piastri was forced wide into the gravel by Sergio Perez, dropping behind Leclerc. With the damage, Leclerc had no defence to the McLaren, losing the position before pitting for a new front wing.
Norris appeared to lack the pace to challenge Verstappen, allowing the leading Red Bull to create a significant gap in front, as the top two drivers pulled away from the rest of the field.
Lewis Hamilton was the first of the lead cars to pit for new tyres on lap 22. The stop cost him a five-second penalty for crossing the white line at the pit entry. Sergio Perez followed him into the pit lane on the same lap, but he was nabbed by the stewards for speeding in the pit lane, earning him a five-second penalty. Max Verstappen also caught the attention of the stewards for a potentially unsafe release when he was released from his pit box in front of Lando Norris during his pit stop a couple of laps later. The stewards decided that no further action was required.
While there was a lull in the action during the middle portion of the race, there was some Alpine drama to keep fans entertained. On lap 36, Esteban Ocon overtook Fernando Alonso into the first corner. Alonso tried to fight back in the run down to turn three, but Ocon made a late block. The stewards looked at the incident but decided no action was warranted. Alonso already had a ten-second penalty for running into Zhou Guanyu in the third corner during the opening laps of the race. The block allowed Pierre Gasly to get by Alonso and put him alongside his teammate into the third corner, but he was forced wide by Ocon. Ocon surely didn’t lose any friends in that exchange.
Verstappen made his second pit stop on lap 51, but a slow stop forced him to wait for Norris who followed him into the pit lane. This reset the lead that Verstappen had been building for the entirety of the race. To make matters worse for the reigning World Champion, Norris had a new set of medium tyres but Verstappen only had a used set, giving Norris the tyre advantage. A lock-up in turn four on Verstappen’s outlap brought McLaren closer to the lead.
Before long, Norris climbed within the DRS range of the leading Red Bull. Norris attempted to dive up the inside of turn three, but Verstappen moved to cover off the move. This caused frustration over the McLaren team radio, with Norris feeling the move was too late. Norris was pushing hard, using up all of his track limit warnings, meaning the next violation would result in a penalty.
With just over ten laps remaining in the race, Norris gave a dive up the inside of turn three another shot. This time, Norris locked up and ran wide off the circuit. He immediately gave the position back to Verstappen, but the stewards still put the incident under investigation for track limits and Norris would eventually be given a five-second penalty. However, the penalty would not be given until later in the race.
On lap 63, Norris again tried to dive up the inside of turn three, running Verstappen off the circuit. Verstappen maintained the position off the circuit, again causing complaints from the McLaren team radio from Norris, who argued that he was ahead at the apex.
Norris’ final attempt to overtake the Red Bull at turn three the following lap turned into a disaster and dramatically changed the race results. Norris switched it up with a dive to the outside of the third corner. Verstappen forced the McLaren right to the edge of the circuit on corner entry and the two collided, giving both cars a puncture. Verstappen pitted for a set of soft tyres, managing to finish the race in P5. Norris’ tyre shredded and caused too much damage for the Brit to continue the race. Verstappen was given a ten-second penalty for causing a collision, although it had an impact on the race results.
This gave George Russell a shocking lead, which he converted into victory, becoming the fifth different race winner of the season. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri made an overtake on Carlos Sainz around the outside of turn six, promoting himself to the second step of the podium.
There’s no time to process today’s results, as the final race in this triple header is just around the corner. Next up is the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on July 7.
| Pos. | Driver | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71 | 1:24:22.798 | 25 | ||
| 2 | 71 | +1.906 | 18 | ||
| 3 | 71 | +4.533 | 15 | ||
| 4 | 71 | +23.142 | 12 | ||
| 5 | 71 | +37.253 | 10 | ||
| 6 | 71 | +54.088 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 71 | +54.672 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 71 | +60.355 | 4 | ||
| 9 | 71 | +61.169 | 2 | ||
| 10 | 71 | +61.766 | 1 | ||
| 11 | 71 | +67.056 | |||
| 12 | 71 | +68.325 | |||
| 13 | 70 | +1 Lap | |||
| 14 | 70 | +1 Lap | |||
| 15 | 70 | +1 Lap | |||
| 16 | 70 | +1 Lap | |||
| 17 | 70 | +1 Lap | |||
| 18 | 70 | +1 Lap |  | ||
| 19 | 69 | +2 Laps | |||
| DNF | 64 |
