Reigning world champion and championship leader, the Dutchman overtook the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr at the end of the 23 laps of this race without authorized tire changes.

He also scored eight additional points in the championship and, before the Grand Prix on Sunday, had 189 points, 38 ahead of his teammate at Red Bull, the Mexican Sergio Pérez, 44 over Leclerc and 56 over Sainz.

"It was a good race. I was flat out from start to finish," Verstappen said after the finish.

"The first laps allowed me to manage my gap and then I maintained my pace".

However, he stressed that "tomorrow (Sunday) it will be much longer and we will have to be careful with the tyres".

Changes will be allowed this time.

Behind the Dutchman's Red Bull, the two Ferraris fought a close battle which turned to Leclerc's advantage.

"It was quite complicated. Max attacked at the start and I wanted to attack at the end. I fought well with Carlos (Sainz). I hope I can put more pressure on Max tomorrow and I hope we will be able to work as a team", underlined the Monegasque driver.

Sainz, winner of the British Grand Prix last Sunday at Silverstone, said he had made a "good start".

But the Spaniard said he "maybe a little overheated" his tires.

The sprint race was also marked by a good comeback from Pérez.

Starting 13th after being penalized after qualifying on Friday for going out of bounds during his fastest lap, he finished 5th.

Presentation of the Spielberg circuit, where the Austrian Grand Prix takes place on July 10 AFP

The Red Bulls at home

The Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Alpine), on the other hand, was forced to retire from the start and will therefore start at the back of the grid on Sunday.

On the Mercedes side, who had experienced difficult qualifying on Friday with exits from the road for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, the latter managed to keep 4th place from where he started.

As for Hamilton, who started 9th, he finished 8th with a small consolation point.

The seven-time world champion battled for a long time with Mick Schumacher (Haas), son of the German Michael Schumacher who also won the Formula 1 world championship seven times in the 1990s and 2000s.

The Austrian GP, ​​which will start on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. (1:00 p.m. GMT), is the second of the three races of the season to offer a sprint race on Saturday, a format inaugurated last season and already used this year during the Grand Emilia-Romagna Prize, at Imola in April.

The top eight in the sprint race receive additional championship points and the result determines the starting grid for Sunday's Grand Prix.

Dutch fans who came in large numbers to support Max Verstappen on July 9, 2022 at the Austrian F1 GP JOE KLAMAR AFP

Red Bull, financed by the Austrian energy drink magnate, races at home on the Spielberg circuit and as a result enjoys wide public support, including thousands of Dutch people who come to support their darling Verstappen every year.

Even if it means booing Hamilton, like Friday after his minor off the road, which provoked an angry reaction from Toto Wolff, the boss of Mercedes.

"It's not very sporting," he reacted.

Last week, at Silverstone, it was the English public who whistled Verstappen.

© 2022 AFP