Max Verstappen wins sprint race to extend title lead
Leclerc P2, Sainz P3, Russell P4
Perez climbs from 13th to P5, Hamilton P8 after early collision with Gasly
Verstappen will start on pole for Sunday's Grand Prix
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The flares are being set off and the music is blasting out of the speakers. The circuit mascot for this weekend looks exactly like the one on The Laughing Cow cheese triangles box, minus the cheese triangle earrings. Also a fantastic leather jacket being worn by former F1 team boss Flavio Briatore.
Image source, Getty ImagesToday's sprint event will be the fifth fans have seen since the inaugural race at the British Grand Prix last year.
So far, Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas, back in his Mercedes days, have been the two drivers who have triumphed during the short dash format.
British Grand Prix 2021
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull, qualified: P2)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes, qualified: P1)
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes, qualified: P3)
Italian Grand Prix 2021
1. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes, qualified: P1)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), qualified: P3)
3. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren, qualified: P5)
Sao Paulo Grand Prix 2021
1. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes, qualified: P2)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull, qualified: P1)
3. Carlo Sainz (Ferrari, qualified: P5)
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 2022
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull, qualified: P1)
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari, qualified: P2)
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull, qualified: P7)
Image source, Getty ImagesIf you're just passing through and not sure what on earth is going on today, here's a quick rundown...
Formula 1 decided to shake up the weekend format last season and introduce a shorter race, which takes place on a Saturday, that offers drivers and teams the chance to collect even more championship points to add to their campaign tally.
The starting grid for the sprint event is set by the previous day's qualifying session. Wherever a driver places on Friday is where they will line-up for Saturday's shorter race.
Today's 100km dash in Austria will be run over 24 laps, with points this year awarded down to eighth place - so the winner will receive eight points, second place will be handed seven, and so on.
A good sprint finish is also a bonus for the following day's grand prix, as where you end the mini race is where you will start on the grid come lights out on Sunday.
Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer
Image source, Getty ImagesYet another bit of verbal fisticuffs between Mercedes and Red Bull - this time over the introduction of stricter rules on floor flexibility as part of their attempts to control “bouncing” on safety grounds.
These new controls have been delayed by two races - they had been due in in France next time around but will now start at the Belgian Grand Prix after the summer break - following a meeting of the F1 Commission on Friday. They introduce not only a metric for measuring an acceptable limit of bouncing, but also impose extra measurements on new parts of the floor with stricter controls because the FIA has a suspicion some teams have found a way to flex the planks and floors to allow the cars to run closer to the ground then they normally would have been able to.
At Silverstone last weekend, Mercedes strongly implied they believed Red Bull and Ferrari were the teams in the spotlight, and on Friday, Toto Wolff came right out and said it. Did he believe some teams were circumventing the rules, he was asked on Sky F1? “Yeah I think so,” Wolff said. "I’m looking at our competitors. Probably would have wished the TD (technical directive) comes in a little earlier but it is what it is and after Spa we won’t see that any more.”
His opposite number at Red Bull, Christian Horner, was not impressed. He said the idea teams had been flexing their floors was “total rubbish” and he has “zero” concerns about Red Bull’s floor: “Maybe he is referring to cars around him at the moment but absolutely no issues or concerns on our floor.”
Horner said that as far as he was concerned the introduction of the directive was not a done deal. “It is due for further discussion in the technical working group, which is the correct forum for it,” he said, “because as we saw at Silverstone no cars were really affected by it. The argument being is it the duty of the competitor to make sure their car is safe or is it the duty of the FIA to ensure they run their car safely.”
What a setting to watch Formula 1. Pit lane is open.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Formula 1 TwitterA strong second practice session for Alpine but it's Esteban Ocon who starts in the more favourable position compared to his team-mate Fernando Alonso thanks to moving up the order because of Sergio Perez's deleted Q3 lap times. The Mexican driver is outside the top 10 in P13.
Carlos Sainz, the quickest driver during this morning's one hour of running, has said P3 is not actually a bad place to start at the Austrian circuit due to being on the cleaner side of the grid.
Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas, regardless of where he crosses the line in the sprint, will start at the back of the grid for tomorrow's race after a power unit change.
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With extra prizes up for grabs today, a clean weekend is top priority for Charles Leclerc.
In the last five races, Leclerc has only scored 34 points and seen Sergio Perez overtake him in the drivers' championship.
Compare his tally to title leader Max Verstappen, who has collected 96 points in that time, Perez has 81, Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz 74, Lewis Hamilton 57 and the other Mercedes of George Russell has won 52 points.
Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer
Image source, Getty ImagesSecond practice was close. Ferrari against Red Bull. I think Charles Leclerc needs to do everything he can to recover his season.
I was thinking about the 2010 season, the British Grand Prix, and Fernando Alonso was 47 points behind the championship leader. He came out after the race and said 'I can still win the championship' - and he very nearly did. In fact he would've done if Ferrari hadn't messed up the strategy! A bit of a recurring theme here.
All is not lost by any stretch of the imagination - I think I'm OK to say that - but the problem for Ferrari is Red Bull is such formidable rival. Really difficult task for Leclerc and he's got to start clawing back. Every opportunity he gets to get ground back on Verstappen, he's got to take.
It was all hands on deck over at Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both crashed out in qualifying on Friday.
The two drivers appeared midway through second practice - Russell first, then Hamilton heading out with 14 minutes remaining - and ended their limited running P7 for Russell and P9 for Hamilton.
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The story of second practice if you are just joining us today. Carlos Sainz topped second practice ahead of the sprint and was only marginally quicker than his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.
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Hello again everybody. Breaks are over, so clock back in.
We're an hour away from the second sprint race of the season. We've already watched one this campaign at Imola three months ago, now it's Austria's turn to shake up the weekend format. The third sprint event will take place at Brazil's Sao Paulo Grand Prix in November.
If you need to do a few more jobs before we get going, set your watches for 15:30 BST for lights out.
On your mark... get set... SPRINT.
Image source, Getty ImagesAndrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer
Image source, Getty ImagesCarlos Sainz led Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari one-two in second practice as teams prepared for Saturday’s sprint at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Margins were tight, as they were in qualifying on Friday.
Sainz was 0.05 seconds quicker than Leclerc, with Max Verstappen third fastest, 0.168secs slower than the Spaniard.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon were fourth and fifth ahead of the Red Bull of Sergio Perez, who starts the sprint 13th as a result of his qualifying lap times being deleted for exceeding track limits.
Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were late out as a result of repairs to their cars after both crashed in qualifying and ended up seventh and ninth fastest.
McLaren’s Lando Norris was 10th fastest and British-Thai driver Alex Albon 15th in the Williams.
The sprint starts at 15:30 UK time, and runs to about a third of a grand prix distance. The result sets the grid for the main event on Sunday.
Dive into the pits and go and refuel yourselves, then come back and settle in for sprint race build-up at 14:30 BST.
Catch you in bit.
A reminder that Max Verstapen starts the sprint race on pole position, Charles Leclerc lines up second, Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz is third, while George Russell in the Mercedes is now fourth on the grid and Esteban Ocon slots into fifth spot.
The Ferraris quickest times were set on the soft tyres, while Max Verstappen's third-placed marker, plus the two Alpine drivers' times, were set on the medium compounds.
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The rest of the top 10 is made up of Sergio Perez, George Russell, Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.