2023 Austrian GP Sprint Race: Full Report & Highlights

Max Verstappen survived a chaotic, slippery, wheel-to-wheel opening phase and then dominated the rest of a fiercely unpredictable Austrian Sprint, beating Sergio Pérez and Carlos Sainz in a wet-to-dry showdown at the Red Bull Ring. After losing the lead to his teammate at the start, Verstappen hit back immediately, seized control, and then powered away as strategy gambles unfolded behind him.

Rain began falling just before lights-out, shifting the circuit decisively away from slicks. Almost the entire grid switched to intermediates by the time mechanics cleared the grid—everybody except a bold Valtteri Bottas, whose medium-tyre risk backfired instantly and forced a last-second pit call. Out front, Pérez launched brilliantly from second and muscled Verstappen wide into Turn 1, the pair rubbing wheels as Verstappen was forced briefly onto the grass. But the race leader struck back with immediate fury: a deep-braking attack into Turn 3 sent both Red Bulls wide and nearly handed Nico Hülkenberg the lead. With Verstappen back ahead, Pérez complained on the radio: “What’s wrong with Max, man?”

Pérez’s woes deepened when Hülkenberg pounced at Turn 4, slipping the Haas between the Red Bulls as Sainz held fourth from Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso. Lando Norris lost the most ground—dropping from fourth to 10th after being bottled up behind the battling race leaders—slotting behind Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon and Charles Leclerc. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton was the day’s biggest early mover, gaining five places from P18 to run 13th, chasing teammate George Russell and Kevin Magnussen in a multi-lap scrap against Haas.

This Sprint began under the revised 2023 format, with the Shootout setting the grid. Charles Leclerc was dropped from sixth to ninth after impeding Oscar Piastri in SQ1, elevating Alonso, Stroll and Ocon. As Verstappen settled into rhythm, his engineer warned that the front-left tyre was the “limitation” in the damp-but-drying conditions.

As Alonso reported that the track might “potentially” dry, strategy tension rose across the field. Hülkenberg, running a heroic second place early on, soon fell into the clutches of Pérez and Sainz—losing P2 on Lap 12 to Pérez at Turn 4, then P3 to Sainz at Turn 3 a lap later. Verstappen was now more than 10 seconds clear as the race passed halfway.

Behind them, Ocon, Leclerc and Norris engaged in fierce multi-car combat for the final points. Ocon and Leclerc nearly collided between Turns 4 and 5, while Norris waited behind, ready to punish any mistake. Moments later, Russell became the first driver to jump onto slick tyres—bolting on softs with eight laps remaining—as Race Control reactivated DRS to spice up the late action.

Hülkenberg, now dropping behind Stroll, joined Russell on softs along with Piastri, Hamilton, Magnussen, Logan Sargeant, Nyck de Vries and Zhou Guanyu. But they all faced the brutal mathematics of a roughly 20-second pit-lane loss versus unsure grip levels. Russell lit up purple sectors immediately, prompting Albon, Leclerc and Yuki Tsunoda to make the switch. But the front-running Red Bulls, Sainz, both Aston Martins, Ocon, Norris, Pierre Gasly and Bottas stayed on intermediates, banking on maintaining track position.

In the end, the slick-tyre charge came too late. Verstappen exercised perfect control up front, stretching his advantage and taking the flag more than 20 seconds ahead of Pérez, with Sainz securing third. Stroll and Alonso completed Aston Martin’s strong showing in P4 and P5. Hülkenberg recovered back to sixth, the best finisher among those who pitted for softs.

Ocon then dramatically held off a charging Russell by just 0.009s for seventh and eighth, shutting both Mercedes drivers out of the points. Norris and Hamilton came next in P9 and P10, followed by Piastri, Leclerc, Albon and Magnussen. Gasly slipped backward as slick runners surged by, while Tsunoda and De Vries closed out AlphaTauri’s afternoon in P16–P17. Sargeant, Zhou and Bottas completed the order after a turbulent, frenetic Sprint.

2023 Austrian GP Sprint Race Results

2023 Austrian Grand Prix Sprint Race, 1 July 2023