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The dynamics of the race will be far more hectic and complex than any of the normal races so far in the second Sprint race of the season on Saturday (July 1). The weather being unpredictable is an added pressure on the teams.
With Austria being Red Bull's home race, it goes without saying that fans will be looking forward to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez putting on a good show for everyone at the grandstands.
Max Verstappen has done it yet again and will start on the pole for the Sprint as the track began drying from the previous showers. Sergio Perez was 0.493s behind Max Verstappen.
Perez is followed by McLaren's Lando Norris, who drove exceptionally and landed P3. And equally impressive and surprising P4 was Nico Hulkenberg from Haas, who finished ahead of Carlos Sainz after pulling off a magnificent lap right in the nick of time in SQ1.
Sainz had to exit early in the first part of the qualifying as he faced issues with the brakes. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc barely made it into SQ2 clocking a lap time of 1:07.061. The Aston Martin drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll took P7 and P8, respectively, ahead of Alpine's Esteban Ocon and Haas' Kevin Magnussen.
Mercedes didn't quite have the dream start they had expected as George Russell secured P15 and Lewis Hamilton due to his lap time getting canceled starts at P18.
The starting grid for the 2023 Austria F1 Sprint Race
After the sprint shootout, the starting grid for Sunday's main race will be in the following order:
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing)
3. Lando Norris (McLaren Mercedes)
4. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
5. Carlos Sainz (Scuderia Ferrari)
6. Charles Leclerc (Scuderia Ferrari)
7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
8. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
9. Esteban Ocon (Alpine Renault)
10. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
11. Alex Albon (Williams Racing)
12. Pierre Gasly (Alpine Renault)
13. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
14. Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri)
15. George Russell (Mercedes)
16. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo Ferrari)
17. Oscar Piastri (McLaren Mercedes)
18. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
19. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo Ferrari)
20. Logan Sargeant (Williams Racing)
The Sprint race lineup looks quite interesting with a McLaren and Haas contending the raging Bulls on their home ground. Max Verstappen is likely to cruise through his home circuit while Sergio Perez will try and redeem himself following the rough patch he suffered over the last couple of races.
The Prancing Horses seem to be in good form given Sainz's excellent do-or-die lap in SQ1 and Charles Leclerc following close suit. It will also be worth watching how the Silver Arrows strategize to cruise ahead starting at the back of the grid.
