Reset! The sprint is on.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at the Red Bull Ring

From the FIA: Start aborted. Photographers standing behind barriers in T1 posing a safety risk.

Take two then. Not too sure what has happened here.

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Every car starts on medium tyres. They’ve done a lot of work on that in the practice sessions. They know how the car performs.

It’s probably too long a race to go on the softer tyre, which gives you a boost off the line but maybe wouldn’t last, and the harder tyre is too difficult to get temperature in and you risk losing positions.

It's an aborted start! The cars are back on their travels to do another formational lap.

The cars set off on this short formation lap. Everyone on the pit wall is ready - if slightly sweaty already.

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Live Extra

It is incredibly close between Verstappen and Norris – just 93 1/100ths of a second – there is all to play for. It's interesting to work out that distance on a race track – and it’s nothing.

Lando Norris tells Sky Sports "he's not feeling his best", adding he has been under the weather for the past two weeks. Hopefully the McLaren driver can handle the shorter distance in this heat.

The medium tyres have been selected across the field for this third sprint event of the 2024 campaign.

The fans in the grandstands - the majority of them in 'Orange Army' T-shirts - will need to slap on the factor 50 today, as conditions for the 100km sprint race are set to be glorious.

Rain didn't secure a ticket for Saturday's entertainment, so those intermediate and wet-weather tyres can stay in the box.

Image source, Getty Images

The softest tyres in the Pirelli range have been brought to Spielberg for this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix - which is home to the shortest lap time on the F1 calendar.

Teams can choose between the C3 (white, hard), C4 (yellow, medium) and C5 (red, soft) for the sprint, qualifying and full race, although the soft compound was not used during last year's grand prix, with teams opting for a two-stop strategy of the mediums and hards instead.

If this is your first time for a sprint event, then welcome. It will be over in a flash.

Today's 100km race with take place over 24 laps and should last around 30 minutes.

There are no pit stops during the shorter dash, unless a driver needs to come in for repairs.

The top eight finishers score points, from eight for first place down to one point for P8.

Image source, F1

With only the top eight scoring championship points in the sprint, Lando Norris, who sits in second spot, has the chance to put a bit of breathing space between himself and third-placed Charles Leclerc, if the Ferrari driver fails to move up the order today.

Lewis Hamilton called his sprint qualifying "pretty disastrous" after placing his Mercedes sixth. The seven-time world champion struggled during the session and said: “What can I say? Practice felt good, the car generally felt good. I don’t think we had the pace obviously to be on pole, but, yeah, very bad laps - every single one of them."

It was also a disappointing Friday for Aston Martin, who saw Lance Stroll, who has just signed a contract extension with the team, and Fernando Alonso both knocked out in SQ2.

Over at Williams, American Logan Sargeant notched up a rare win, as he out-qualified team-mate Alex Albon to start 15th on the grid.

Albon will be starting the sprint from the pit lane because Williams changed the car set-up under parc ferme.

Image source, Getty Images

The Red Bull of Max Verstappen versus Lando Norris' McLaren is becoming a familiar sight as we continue on this 2024 journey.

In a frantic end to SQ3, Verstappen beat Norris by 0.093 seconds to claim his second sprint pole position of the season.

Oscar Piastri secured his spot on the second row in third place alongside the Mercedes of George Russell in fourth, while the Ferrari's Carlos Sainz qualified in fifth spot.

Charles Leclerc will start in 10th place, outside the sprint points, after experiencing issues with his car in the pit lane which left him unable to put together a flying lap at the end of the session.

Image source, Getty Images

Hello, folks. It's an early start for us today, as the track action will be non-stop at the Red Bull Ring.

The 24-lap sprint race gets under way at 11:00 BST.

Qualifying for tomorrow's full grand prix goes green at 15:00 BST.

Commentary on the sprint will be available on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds, while qualifying is online-only via the 'listen live' button at the top of this page.

You can also listen via your smart speaker. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play the Austrian Grand Prix sprint race/qualifying" and the team will be there to take you through the sessions.

A warm welcome today to Jennie Gow, Ben Edwards and former F1 mechanic Marc Priestley.

Image source, Getty Images

The Red Bull Ring is bathed in the bright glow of the Orange Army this weekend and Max Verstappen has not disappointed his loyal fanbase so far.

His engine bother in first practice on Friday was quickly forgotten about as he powered to another sprint pole position to add to his growing tally.

At last year's Austrian Grand Prix, Verstappen delivered a perfect weekend with a sprint win, pole in main qualifying and victory in the following day's 71-lap race.

With the likes of McLaren creeping closer and closer to Red Bull, can the Dutchman put together another perfect Saturday in Spielberg?