Red Bull Racing Wins F1 Sprint Race in Austria, Ferrari Looking Strong Again

Going into the race, everyone was shocked to see that Fernando Alonso couldn't take part in the formation lap as his Alpine encountered a technical malfunction. Even though he could have started from the pit lane afterward, the problem was more complicated than initially thought, so he was out of the race.

As everyone was lining up for the starting procedure, Zhou Guanyu's Alfa Romeo also threw a fit of its own. The engine stopped just before the grid, but the Chinese driver managed to get it back online rather quickly. That led to another formation start before the official start.

As soon as the red lights went off, the race was on! Pierre Gasly made contact with Lewis Hamilton and spun out before reaching Turn 1, but he quickly recovered and got back in the race. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz had a brilliant start and forced his way past Charles Leclerc and right behind Max Verstappen.

He would soon try to overtake the Red Bull Racing driver, but that allowed Leclerc to regain his initial position. The two Ferrari drivers continued to battle each other for several more laps, providing a great show for F1 fans everywhere.

Sergio Perez had to start the race from P13, but it only took him one lap to make his move up to P8. Everyone was pushing hard, knowing that the outcome of the sprint race would determine the grid for Sunday's main event.

At the same time, caution was required too. Any damage to the car could have spelled disaster for the remainder of the weekend. Nine laps into the race, Verstappen was still in the lead. But Leclerc was just 3 seconds behind and pushing hard. Meanwhile, Sergio Perez overtook both Haas Ferrari drivers, and it didn't look like he would stop there.

Indeed, on lap 12, he overtook Esteban Ocon as well, as he moved into P5. In the mid-field, Lewis Hamilton was struggling to overtake Mick Schumacher. It took him several laps to achieve that goal, but alas, it was too late for him to move on any further.

With 10 more laps to go out of a total of 23, Leclerc continued his pursuit of Verstappen, bringing the gap down to just 2.4 seconds. By lap 19, he was just 2.1 seconds behind the 24-year-old driver. Alas, the Red Bull Racing superstar won the race hands down after leading it for 23 laps.

Leclerc managed to finish P2, crossing the line 1.675 seconds later. Ferrari fans were ecstatic to see that Carlos Sainz managed to get P3, and it's obvious that the Spaniard still has more unlocked potential to display. You can't help but be impressed by George Russell, who started and finished fourth.

Looking back at his achievements this year, you can't help but wonder how long it will take him to secure his first World Championship title. Sergio Perez managed to score 4 points in this Sprint Race after a spectacular performance coming up from P13.

Esteban Ocon was the sixth driver to cross the finish line, with Kevin Magnussen in seventh and Lewis Hamilton in P8. Today's race is scheduled to start at 4 PM GMT+2, but this time drivers will have to run a total of 71 laps of the Red Bull Ring. That's the equivalent of 190.42 miles (306.452 km)!