Max Verstappen dominated the Austrian Grand Prix after seeing off an early strategic challenge from Charles Leclerc.

The Red Bull driver got away easily from pole, and after swatting away a pass attempt from Leclerc around the outside of Turn 3 and then Turn 4, Verstappen set about building a comfortable lead.

Leclerc’s biggest challenge quickly became holding off Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, who radioed his team several times to suggest he be allowed to fight for second place, though he was rebuffed on each occasion.

Max Verstappen won the Austrian Grand Prix sprint after a fraught dice with teammate Sergio Perez on the first lap.

Perez got the better start from second on the grid and used his position on the inside of the first turn to snatch the lead. But the Mexican ran slightly deep and onto the wet exit curb, which cost him momentum.

Verstappen cut underneath him on the run to the Turn 3, to which Perez responded by crowding him to the edge of the track, forcing him to dip his right wheels onto the grass.

Max Verstappen lead a Red Bull front-row lockout ahead of Sergio Perez in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix sprint after the team’s chief rivals fumbled their way through the damp session.

Verstappen was in commanding form on the still-drying track following morning rain to beat Perez by 0.493s despite a wobble through Turn 3 that the team guessed cost him as much as 0.15s.

“The car was in a good window, good balance,” he said. “Very happy of course to be first.”

Max Verstappen has dominated Austria’s sole practice session for Red Bull Racing ahead of qualifying later today.

Verstappen left his fastest lap until the final seconds of the hour-long session, setting a time of 1m05.742s to beat Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz by 0.241s.

The Dutchman set his time on the medium tire, whereas most of the rest of the field, including Sainz, used a set of softs in the closing stages of the session. The gap between the soft and medium compounds was around 0.4s at this circuit last season. If that difference in performance were to be replicated this weekend, it would suggest Verstappen has a formidable 0.6s advantage over the rest of the grid.

Max Verstappen edged Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix after the Dutchman’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez failed to make it past Q2.

In a fraught qualifying hour defined as much by who could keep their car within the white lines of the track boundary as by who could go fastest around the circuit, Verstappen emerged supreme, topping every segment of qualifying on his way to pole.

Leclerc ran him close at the end, getting to within 0.048s after a gutsy attack on the track’s final sector, but Verstappen’s time of 1m04.391s couldn’t be beaten. The world champ will line up in pole position on Sunday afternoon following the standalone sprint on Saturday.

Max Verstappen dominated the Austria sprint race ahead of the squabbling Ferrari drivers to inch open his world championship lead.

Verstappen got away cleanly from the line, while Carlos Sainz followed him into the first corner from third on the grid, jumping teammate Charles Leclerc, who started on the front row.

The Spaniard attempted to challenge the Dutchman into Turn 3 but went deep, and Leclerc took his opportunity to cut down his inside and get the better exit. The Monegasque was later on the brakes on the inside of Turn 4 and took the place back, demoting his teammate to third.

Max Verstappen will start the Austrian Grand Prix sprint race from pole after pipping Charles Leclerc to top spot by just 0.029s. British Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz qualified third and just 0.082s off the pace.

Verstappen left his best until last. Not only was the Red Bull driver one of the last across the line, but his first two sectors weren’t improvements on his previous laps, with the fine difference all coming at the final split.

“At the end it was a very tight qualifying,” he said. “It’s a very challenging track as well to get everything right.

Max Verstappen led a disrupted first practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix ahead of qualifying later today.

Verstappen looked comfortable at the head of the field for much of the crucial hour and ended his program 0.255s quicker than Charles Leclerc, with a best lap of 1m 6.302s. But no driver squeezed their complete programs into the 60-minute session thanks to two red flags that interrupted running.

The first was for Lando Norris, who parked his McLaren at the side of the road after reporting smoke emanating from beneath his seat, ending his session.