Verstappen prevails in Austrian GP Sprint Shootout

Max Verstappen topped qualifying for this afternoon's Sprint at the Red Bull Ring, the Red Bull driver edging in the frantic session teammate Sergio Perez and McLaren's Lando Norris.

Mercedes were the main victims of the frantic succession of segments, with the team getting Lewis Hamilton's timing wrong in SQ3 which landed the Briton a lowly P18.

On the other side of the Brackley squad's garage, George Russell had made it into Q2 but the Briton's car was pulled from the session due to a hydraulic issue.

Haas' performance was noteworthy, with the US outfit placing both its driver among the top ten, with Nico Hulkenberg clocking in an impressive fourth at the end of SQ3.

• 2023 Austrian GP - Sprint Shootout results 

As a reminder, the Sprint Shootout session follows the usual Q1-Q2-Q3 format, but the duration of each segment has been reduced, with SQ1 lasting 12 minutes, SQ2 cut to 10 minutes and SQ3 lasting just 8 minutes.

SQ1: Sainz prevails - Hamilton times it wrong

While the track was declared wet, drivers opted to start the first segment of the shootout on either the soft or the medium tyre.

There were worries in the Ferrari camp at the outset when Sainz reported a brake by wire failure, the Spaniard compelled to pit.

Meanwhile, rotations at the top of the timesheet were fast and furious. After Red Bulls had taken charge, Hamilton popped to the top, but the Mercedes driver's time was deleted in short order for a track limit infringement.

With just 90 seconds to go, Sainz returned to the track to produce a heroic effort and the quickest lap of the session, with Verstappen just 0.049s adrift.

However, there was drama among the big guns. As conditions improved and drivers upped the pace, Leclerc dropped like a stone from P8, the Monegasque falling to P16.

He managed to survive to fight again in SQ2 after concluding the segment P15. But a moment on track with McLaren's Oscar Piastri was sure to be looked upon by the stewards as a potential impeding move by the Ferrari driver.

A glance at the lap times showed that Hamilton was conspicuously absent from the pecking order up front because the Briton was stuck in traffic during his ill-timed run and ended the segment in P18, joining Zhou, Piastri, Bottas and Sargeant among the laggards.

But there was more bad news for Mercedes as Russell who was sat in P7 repored a hydraulic failure.

SQ2: Verstappen pips Sainz – more drama for Mercedes

As the second installment got underway, Mercedes' mechanics worked frantically to get Russell back out on the track. The effort was vain however, ensuring a P15 start for the Briton in this afternoon's Sprint race.

Meanwhile the track had almost completely dried out, allowing everyone to push the limits. Verstappen went quickest early on, but the Dutchman was overhauled by Ocon, the Frenchman taking advantage of a fresh set of soft tyres.

Sainz then seized the lead, but Verstappen considered P1 rightfully his and duly reclaimed P1.

Meanwhile, Leclerc looked set to fall off the charts but again the Scuderia charger managed to pull out a flyer that pushed him up to 4th, while Haas succeeded in putting both its driver into the final top ten.

Albon, Gasly, Tsunoda, de Vries and Russell were those left stranded in the elimination zone.

SQ3: Verstappen prevails – Hulkenberg claims P4

A few spots of rain were reported by the drivers at Turn 1, but soft tyres remained the norm. However, only Verstappen, Norris and Leclerc were shod with fresh sets while others had to rely on used softs.

Verstappen went immediately top, followed by Norris and Perez. Leclerc timed his first flyer to perfection, running in a gap in the traffic, but the Ferrari driver could only manage P5.

In the dying seconds of the segment, no one was able to take away Verstappen's pole, but Hulkenberg proved once again that Haas' one-lap pace is no fluke this season.

The German, running on a new set of mediums, duly seized P4 as the checkered flag was deployed, while Perez overhauled Norris for P32 behind Shootout poleman Verstappen.

Behind, Sainz and Leclerc rounded off the top six, this locking out the third row for this afternoon's Sprint, while Alonso, Stroll, Ocon and Magnussen completed the top ten.

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