2022 Austrian F1 Sprint as it happens: commentary and highlights
30 minutes to lights out: With just over 30 minutes left until we get this Sprint underway, let’s recap a few of the key rules in place for this format of F1 racing.
The top eight drivers will receive points this afternoon with the winner taking eight valuable points, P2 seven points, P3 six and so on, whilst the drivers do not have to make a mandatory pitstop. The finishing positions of each driver in this Sprint will also determine how they’ll line up on the grid for tomorrow’s race.
In essence, it’s all about speed this afternoon so expect plenty of drama as the cars will be carrying less fuel onboard from the off due to the shorter amount of laps.
45 minutes to lights out: Despite both crashing in the third qualifying session yesterday, Mercedes pair George Russell and Lewis Hamilton made it out of the garage earlier today for the second practice session. Both cars seemed to be working fine and with their improved pace over the past few races, both could really upset the top order during this Sprint, especially Russell who starts P4.
1 hour to lights out: Welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of the second Sprint session of the 2022 Formula 1 season, this time at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will start from pole position in the 2022 Austrian Sprint as he narrowly pipped Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to top spot in qualifying on Friday afternoon.
The Dutch driver finished just 0.029 seconds ahead of his championship rival to claim pole position for what should be another entertaining Sprint, the second of the season after Verstappen took the crown back in Italy earlier this season.
After his victory at the British Grand Prix last time out, Carlos Sainz will start P3 this afternoon, though Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez will start all the way down in P13 after having some of his qualifying laps deleted after the session due to his extension of the track limits.
The #F1Sprint starting grid for Saturday 👀
Sergio Perez has been excluded from Q3 for exceeding track limits at the end of Q2
His time has been deleted in Q2 and will now start from P13#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/aYEJYMhlm0
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 8, 2022
Elsewhere it proved a tough day for Mercedes, who arrive in Austria having closed the gap pace wise to Ferrari and Red Bull in recent weeks, as both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton ended the third qualifying session on Friday by crashing into the barriers. McLaren’s Lando Norris was also forced to retire from the session due to a fault with his brakes.
MORE: What is F1 Sprint? Schedule, points & how new Formula 1 qualifying format works
Austrian Sprint qualifying results
|
Grid Position |
Driver | Team |
| 1. | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2. | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| 3. | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari |
| 4. | George Russell | Mercedes |
| 5. | Esteban Ocon | Alpine |
| 6. | Kevin Magnussen | Haas |
| 7. | Mick Schumacher | Haas |
| 8. | Fernando Alonso | Alpine |
| 9. | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
| 10. | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri |
| 11. | Alex Albon | Williams |
| 12. | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo |
| 13. | Sergio Perez | Red Bull |
| 14. | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri |
| 15. | Lando Norris | McLaren |
| 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren |
| 17. | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |
| 18. | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo |
| 19. | Nicholas Latifi | Williams |
| 20 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin |
How to watch the 2022 Austrian F1 Sprint
| UK | USA | Canada | Australia | |
| Date | July 9 | July 9 | July 9 | July 9 |
| Time | 3.30 p.m. | 10.30 a.m. ET | 10.30 a.m. ET | 9.30 p.m. AEST |
| TV channel | Sky Sports F1 | ESPN | TSN | FOX SPORTS |
