Verstappen keeps his nerve after photographers disrupt the start
The two McLaren drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, made it as difficult as possible for Formula-1 World Champion Max Verstappen to win the Sprint Race in Austria. In the end, the Red Bull driver managed to secure the victory at his home race for his team. The 26-year-old Dutchman took the lead in the intense 100 km sprint race in Spielberg, holding off Piastri and Norris. Verstappen repeated his victory from last year and claimed the third Sprint win of the season for himself, earning eight World Championship points. In the World Championship standings, Verstappen (227 points) increased his lead over Norris (156) slightly.
"You could see they made it tough for me," Verstappen commented on the attacks from the McLaren drivers. "We had to work for this win." Norris, on the other hand, was frustrated that he couldn't hold onto his brief lead and found himself "driving like an amateur." "There are things I could have done better," the 24-year-old Brit said. "But it was too difficult to get past Max."
The start had to be abandoned
The first start had to be abandoned because photographers behind the barriers in the first turn posed a safety risk. During the second attempt, Verstappen defended his first place but had to quickly fend off challenges from Norris and Piastri. Norris took the lead for a few meters in the fifth round but was then overtaken by both Verstappen and Piastri in a hard-fought three-way battle.
Verstappen, who was under pressure at the beginning, managed to pull away by 4.6 seconds. "That was quite intense," Verstappen radioed after crossing the finish line, "but a good result in the end."
Fans at the Red Bull Ring were treated to spectacular overtaking maneuvers under high summer temperatures of 30 degrees. In the fifth lap, Norris made an aggressive attack and even passed Verstappen, but lost a good position on the following straight. Piastri then overtook both the title defender and Norris, but was also unsuccessful in his pursuit of the championship leader. Shortly before the halfway point, Verstappen began to pull away. Nico Hülkenberg finished 17th in the Haas race car but managed to cross the finish line as 14th, missing the points.
On Saturday afternoon, the qualifying session for the actual Grand Prix is scheduled for a day later. Title defender Verstappen leads the overall standings comfortably with a 70-point advantage over Norris. As the defending champion, Verstappen is once again the favorite on one of his favorite circuits. [
Image: Max Verstappen celebrates his victory in the Sprint Race at the Red Bull Ring](https://www.formel1.com/de/races/events/2022/austria/race-results.html)
Image: Lando Norris during the Sprint Race at the Red Bull Ring](https://www.formel1.com/de/races/events/2022/austria/race-results.html)
After the intense Sprint Race, Verstappen's victory was widely broadcast on SkySport, giving fans a thrilling view of his performance. Despite challenging attempts from Norris and Piastri, Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen maintained his dominance, securing another Formula 1 win.
