Championship leader Max Verstappen has cruised to victory in the Austrian Grand Prix sprint race on Saturday afternoon.
Having only finished in seventh position in last week's British Grand Prix, Verstappen was under pressure to respond at the first opportunity.
With the grid for Sunday's Grand Prix being decided by the second sprint race of the season, the Dutchman was given the chance to re-establish his dominance over a 23-lap race.
The Red Bull driver encountered minimal issues in collecting the maximum eight points, remaining ahead at the first two corners and not encountering any pressure from the Ferrari pair behind him.
Verstappen ultimately finished 1.6 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc, who got the better of Carlos Sainz Jnr after his teammate's victory at Silverstone.
Mercedes driver George Russell ended Saturday's race in fourth position, not close enough to the top three to challenge for the podium but far enough in front that his spot on the second row on Sunday was never in doubt.
© Reuters
Much of the action came behind the front four, Sergio Perez arguably the driver of the afternoon after moving up eight places from 13th position on the grid to claim fifth in his Red Bull.
Alpine's Esteban Ocon was in sixth spot, helped by Kevin Magnussen, Mick Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton battling it out for the final two points spots behind him.
Magnussen successfully remained in seventh, with Hamilton eventually overtaking Schumacher in the closing stages to end the race in eighth place.
There was disappointment for fellow Alpine driver Fernando Alonso, who failed to start the race after issues with his tyres before the formation lap.
With regards to the Championship, Verstappen now holds a 38-point lead over teammate Perez, with Leclerc six points further adrift in third spot.
Darren Plant
