Austrian Grand Prix: F1 Sprint Saturday live coverage

Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

It is a new day at Red Bull Ring, and points are on the line

Qualifying for the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix is in the books, and it is Max Verstappen on pole yet again, ahead of the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr.

But today is a whole new day.

It is a sprint race weekend for Formula 1 this week, and under the new format, today is a “Sprint Saturday.” That means a stand-alone “Sprint Shootout” to set the grid, followed shortly thereafter by the F1 Sprint race itself.

Points are on the line, with the top eight finishers getting something to show for their efforts.

As we saw during qualifying on Friday for the Grand Prix, staying within track limits could be an issue for drivers during today’s “Sprint Shootout.” For example, Sergio Pérez failed to advance to Q3 after having his lap times deleted during Q2. As Verstappen noted following qualifying on Friday, sometimes you just have to survive and advance.

We will have you covered throughout “Sprint Saturday,” from qualifying through the Sprint race itself. So check back early and often for updates! Until then, you can take a look back at Friday’s qualifying for the Grand Prix, read over our storylines for the Austrian GP, and check out all the F1 coverage at SB Nation.

All updates are in Eastern.

Sprint Shootout

Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

SQ2

Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Ciancaphoto Studio/Getty Images

Update 6:23: Early times are in for SQ2. The current top five:

Verstappen
Norris
Ocon
Magnussen
Pérez

Times are still slower than what we saw yesterday.

Update 6:19: Here is the classification for SQ1:

Update 6:17: Sainz gets the photo of honor for SQ2 for delivering that lap late in SQ1 to not just advance, but to take the fastest time of the session.

Also, a shout-out to Nyck de Vries. The AlphaTauri rookie is under tremendous pressure at the moment, but his SQ1 performance sees him clock in at P8.

SQ1

Update 6:16: Hamilton had a lap time deleted that would have been good enough to see him through to SQ2. Instead, he’ll be watching along with the rest of us.

Update 6:13: Sainz goes to the top of the timing sheets. A tremendous effort to salvage what was looking like a disaster.

He’s followed by Verstappen, Nico Hülkenberg, Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso in the top five.

The biggest shocker? Lewis Hamilton comes in P18. Hamilton is out. Pérez is P14, Leclerc P15.

The five drivers eliminated:

Zhou Guanyu
Piastri
Hamilton
Bottas
Sargeant

Update 6:12: Norris is to the top of the table.

Leclerc will be investigated for potentially impeding Piastri:

Update 6:10: Concern at Ferrari. Sainz is still in the pits, and F1TV shows a clip of Oscar Piastri being held up by Charles Leclerc. Not only might Leclerc see a penalty for impeding, he is currently sitting P18.

Sainz comes out of the garage and he might get one shot at a flying lap.

Update 6:08: Albon goes to the top of the sheets for a moment, but the times are slower than we saw yesterday. The rains overnight and into the morning have likely washed away a good deal of rubber, meaning it might take some time for the lap times to come down as the track “rubbers in” again.

Update 6:07: Sergio Pérez, who failed to advance to Q3 yesterday after having multiple laps deleted for exceeding track limits, has another early lap deleted for the same reason.

Update 6:05: Verstappen to the top of the timing sheets with a run on the mediums, but his time is immediately deleted for exceeding track limits.

That was a big issue yesterday.

Update 6:03: Williams has decided that the intermediates are unnecessary, as both Albon and Sargeant have come back into the pits to switch to slicks.

Carlos Sainz Jr. radios into his team that he might have a brake wire failure, and he’s been told to come into the pits.

Update 6:00: Cars are queued up and the Williams duo of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant are out front, each with a set of intermediates.

Update 5:58: Just about time to get rolling out in Austria, which means only one thing.

Opening titles!

Update 5:49: According to F1TV the track has been deemed “wet” by race officials, so we may potentially see some laps on intermediates.

Update 5:24: Before things get underway, we can take a moment and study this fascinating bit of data viz from @FDataAnalysis. This depicts the acceleration, braking, and lateral acceleration drivers experience at Red Bull Ring:

This is one of the many fascinating accounts well worth following.

Update 5:19: Courtesy of F1 journalist Albert Fabrega, a look at the tyre compounds each team has remaining as we enter Sprint Saturday:

Update 5:17: Looks a little wet in Austria today:

Update 5:15: Good morning friends and welcome to Sprint Saturday.