Verstappen claims sprint race, secures pole for Austrian GP
Red Bull's Max Verstappen claimed the 23-lap sprint race Saturday ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and will start the Austrian GP on pole.
The victory earns Verstappen eight points in the drivers' championship standings, while seven other drivers earned points as well.
It's the second sprint race win for Verstappen this season and the third of his career.
The finishing order of the sprint race determines the full grid for Sunday's race:
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 8 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 7 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 6 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | 5 |
| 5 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 4 |
| 6 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 3 |
| 7 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 2 |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1 |
| 9 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | |
| 10 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | |
| 11 | Lando Norris | McLaren | |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | |
| 14 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | |
| 15 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | |
| 16 | Alex Albon | Williams | |
| 17 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | |
| 19 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | |
| 20 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine |
"I expect tomorrow to be an interesting battle again," Verstappen said. "The car is good, just a few things to fine-tune."
Ferrari teammates Leclerc and Carlos Sainz spent the first seven laps battling each other, allowing Verstappen to pull away.
"I really hope so," Leclerc said when asked if he and Sainz can work together to close the gap to Verstappen.
Valtteri Bottas finished 10th but will start at the back after receiving a 15-place grid penalty for taking on a new power unit.
Sebastian Vettel finished 19th after spinning off the track on Lap 12 following a collision with Alex Albon. The Williams driver also received a five-second penalty for running Lando Norris off the track, dropping him down to 16th.
Alpine's Fernando Alonso suffered a mechanical issue and didn't participate in the sprint race.