Verstappen dominates Austrian 2023 Sprint after fight with Perez

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen dominated a wet Austrian Sprint Race after a close fight with his teammate, Sergio Perez, in the opening corners.

How the sprint unfolded…

When the lights went out, Perez made a charge for the front and managed to overtake his teammate, Verstappen, into the opening corner. However, on the exit of turn one, Verstappen got a better run but Perez squeezed the Dutchman onto the grass which forced the defending world champion to yield.

On the run into turn three, Perez went into the corner first ahead of his teammate but – under breaking – Verstappen lost control of his RB19 and forced his Mexican teammate off the circuit. In turn, this allowed Verstappen to regain the lead. 

Due to the inter-team battle, Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg was allowed to sneak up into second as the two Red Bulls battled onto turn four. Perez lost out at the end of the Red Bull fight and tumbled to third as Hulkenberg slipped by. 

After the opening stages, Verstappen led the race ahead of Hulkenberg and Perez who occupied second and third respectively.

While the race lead remained unchanged out in front, Perez finally managed to find a way passed Hulkenberg on lap 11 and moved into second, nine seconds off Verstappen. The Mexican struggled to claw back the time and ultimately finished second. 

As track conditions began to improve and the circuit dried up, Hulkenberg tumbled down the order as he couldn’t get down traction under acceleration to keep hold of his promising track position.

He was first overtaken by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who finished third before he was overtaken by both Aston Martins. The German finished sixth behind the two Aston’s as Lance Stroll pipped Fernando Alonso and the duo finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Esteban Ocon put in a worthy defence throughout the short-and-wet sprint to come home in seventh place. The French Alpine driver finished a whisker ahead of George Russell by 0.009s who clinched in eighth place after he became the guinea pig – and trendsetter – to test the circuit on soft slick tyres.

McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top 10 in ninth and 10th respectively.

That’s all for the article: Verstappen dominates Austrian 2023 Sprint after fight with Perez!

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Verstappen pips Leclerc to pole position ahead of 2023 F1 Austrian Grand Prix
• Red Bull’s Verstappen fastest man in Austria GP sole practice
• Alpha Tauri expected to change F1 team name ahead of 2024
• Red Bull head home for 2023 F1 Austrian Grand Prix
• Verstappen victorious in Canada GP to give Red Bull 100th win
• Tsunoda and Stroll given three-place grid drop for Impeding in Canada GP Qualifying

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.