Max Verstappen wins Austrian Grand Prix sprint from pole; Nico Hulkenberg scores points for Haas

The 2023 F1 season will resume this weekend at the home track of the team that has topped the series for the past two seasons. The Austrian Grand Prix will start at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Styria and will be the second sprint weekend of the season.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has been in fine form, winning his last four races in a row and opening up a massive 69-point lead over teammate Sergio Pérez in the world drivers’ standings. That’s almost a full three race lead. Verstappen has won four times in 10 starts at the Red Bull Ring.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Austrian Grand Prix weekend:

Austrian Grand Prix TV/Streaming Schedule

Eastern all the time

Friday
7:25 am – 8:30 am: Free Practice 1 (ESPN2, ESPN+)
10:55 – 11 AM: Qualification (ESPN2, ESPN+)

Saturday
6:25 am – 7:30 am: Sprint Shootout (ESPN2, ESPN+)
10:25 am – 11:30 am: Sprint (ESPN, ESPN+)

sunday
7:30 am – 8:55 am: Pre-Race Show (ESPN)
8:55 – 11 AM: Austrian Grand Prix (ESPN, ESPN+)

Verstappen wins wet-dry Austrian Grand Prix sprint

Max Verstappen started the Austrian Grand Prix sprint from pole and dominated the afternoon, despite losing the lead to Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez with two corners to go. Verstappen won by over 21 seconds over Pérez, completing all 24 laps on intermediate tyres. In total, 11 cars needed slick tires at the end of the race as the track had dried out sufficiently, leading to some exciting racing up and down the order.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished third, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was able to hold off a strong challenge from teammate Fernando Alonso in fourth, Nico Hulkenberg scored a surprising three points for Haas in sixth, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon finished seventh and Mercedes’ George Russell took the final point. in the eighth.

Austrian Grand Prix Sprint result

1. Max Verstappen (1), Red Bull-Honda RBPT

2. Sergio Perez (11), Red Bull-Honda RBPT

3. Carlos Sainz (55), Ferrari

4. Lance Stroll (18), Aston Martin-Mercedes

5. Fernando Alonso (14), Aston Martin-Mercedes

6. Nico Hulkenberg, (27), Haas-Ferrari

7. Esteban Ocon (31), Alpine-Renault

8. George Russell (63), Mercedes

9. Lando Norris (4), McLaren-Mercedes

10. Lewis Hamilton (44), Mercedes

11. Oscar Piastri (81), McLaren-Mercedes

12. Charles Leclerc (16), Ferrari

13. Alexander Albon (23), Williams-Mercedes

14. Kevin Magnussen (20), Haas-Ferrari

15. Pierre Gasly (10), Alpine-Renault

16. Yuki Tsunoda (22), AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT

17. Nick de Vries (21), AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT

18. Logan Sargent (2), Williams-Mercedes

19. Zhou Guanyu (24), Alfa Romeo-Ferrari

20. Valtteri Bottas (77), Alfa Romeo-Ferrari

Austrian Grand Prix starting grid

1. Max Verstappen (1), Red Bull-Honda RBPT

2. Charles Leclerc (16), Ferrari

3. Carlos Sainz (55), Ferrari

4. Lando Norris (4), McLaren-Mercedes

5. Lewis Hamilton (44), Mercedes

6. Lance Stroll (18), Aston Martin-Mercedes

7. Fernando Alonso (14), Aston Martin-Mercedes

8. Nico Hulkenberg, (27), Haas-Ferrari

9. Pierre Gasly (10), Alpine-Renault

10. Alexander Albon (23), Williams-Mercedes

11. George Russell (63), Mercedes

12. Esteban Ocon (31), Alpine-Renault

13. Oscar Piastri (81), McLaren-Mercedes

14. Valtteri Bottas (77), Alfa Romeo-Ferrari

15. Sergio Perez (11), Red Bull-Honda RBPT

16. Yuki Tsunoda (22), AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT

17. Zhou Guanyu (24), Alfa Romeo-Ferrari

18. Logan Sargent (2), Williams-Mercedes

19. Kevin Magnussen (20), Haas-Ferrari

20. Nick de Vries (21), AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT

Austrian Grand Prix Details

Way: Red Bull Ring (Spielberg, Austria), 2.683-mile, 10-turn permanent racing facility
run length: 71 laps for 190 miles
Lap Record: 1:05.619 (Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 2020)
Tire Compound: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft)
Last Year’s Winners: Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Sprint Weekend Format Returns

In 2021, F1 introduced the sprint weekend format, which moved traditional qualifying to Friday and replaced it with a shorter race that would award a minimum number of points and set the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix. After some nominal changes, we have our current format for the 2023 season, which effectively makes Saturdays an exhibition.

The new format removes the Saturday morning practice session in favor of a faster version of the traditional three-stage knockout qualifying format to set the grid for the sprint races later in the day. Points will be awarded to the top eight finishers of the sprint in descending order (eight for P1, seven for P2, six for P3, etc.).

McLaren, Ferrari, Aston Martin rolling out upgrades

Aston Martin are bringing out an upgrade package they hope will happen after Mercedes took second place in the world constructors’ rankings at the Canadian Grand Prix enable them to “attack” the Silver Arrow, Fourth-placed Ferrari will debut new front-wing elements, a new floor and a new rear wing, which it hopes will make its race performance more predictable. McLaren, sixth in the constructors’ rankings, will introduce a series of significant changes to the car starting in Austria.

“I look forward to anything new,” McLaren driver Lando Norris told Australia’s SpeedCafe.

Norris is currently 11th in the driver standings after finishing sixth in 2022.

Top drivers and best bets for the Austrian Grand Prix

Barring an unforeseen disaster, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will be the favorite entering every race weekend for the rest of the season as he heads towards his inevitable third-straight world drivers’ championship. He has a target of -275 for a win in Austria on his team’s home track. according to betmgm And the next best moneyline is Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso at +700.

best chances to win
• Max Verstappen -275
• Fernando Alonso +700
• Lewis Hamilton +800
• Sergio Perez +900

Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports wrote in earlier in the week on some props to consider, including Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finishing on the podium (-225). He also likes Fernando Alonso to finish on the podium in the sprint (-110), pointing to the car’s strength in Montreal two weeks ago.

Austrian Grand Prix entry list

Max Verstappen (1), Red Bull-Honda RBPT
Sergio Perez (11), Red Bull-Honda RBPT
Charles Leclerc (16), Ferrari
Carlos Sainz (55), Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton (44), Mercedes
George Russell (63), Mercedes
Pierre Gasly (10), Alpine-Renault
Esteban Ocon (31), Alpine-Renault
Lando Norris (4), McLaren-Mercedes
Oscar Piastri (81), McLaren-Mercedes
Zhou Guanyu (24), Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
Valtteri Bottas (77), Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
Fernando Alonso (14), Aston Martin-Mercedes
Lance Stroll (18), Aston Martin-Mercedes
Kevin Magnussen (20), Haas-Ferrari
Nico Hulkenberg, (27), Haas-Ferrari
Nick de Vries (21), AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT
Yuki Tsunoda (22), AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT
Logan Sargent (2), Williams-Mercedes
Alexander Albon (23), Williams-Mercedes

Weather for the Austrian Grand Prix

The storm is expected to affect the Friday afternoon qualifying session as well as the Saturday morning sprint shootout qualifying session before a possible improvement in conditions. There is only a 20% chance of rain forecast on race day, which means that even if the grid is mixed with variable conditions on Friday, strong cars like Red Bull, Aston Martin and Mercedes should be able to force their way through the field. End of Grand Prix.