Red Bull's Max Verstappen quickest at first Austrian Grand Prix practice session ahead of Friday qualifying
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Published 08/07/2022 at 12:57 GMT
At the Red Bull Ring, world champion and current drivers' championship leader Max Verstappen was fastest for the Red Bull team in Austria at Friday's opening session, which is one of just two practice sessions this weekend. Later on Friday is qualifying, which determines the running order for Saturday's sprint race.
Max Verstappen
Image credit: Getty Images
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was quickest at the first practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Perhaps as expected, the current world champion was dominant at the circuit owned by the drinks conglomerate.
There were plenty of orange-clad Verstappen fans at the Red Bull Ring, and after the Briton-friendly weekend at Silverstone, there was another contrast with the bright sun and warm weather.
While the British Grand Prix was one of the longest circuits of the season, the lap times in Austria were already pushing the one minute mark, with Verstappen quickest at 1:06.302 seconds.
Verstappen was frustrated on a number of occasions as he complained of being obstructed by riders ahead of him, with Pierre Gasly claiming the same, but the real misfortune was incurred by McLaren driver Lando Norris who reported early on that his car was in ‘limp home’ mode, and minutes later he had to pull over and leave his car quickly as he saw smoke.
While the track staff were able to get his vehicle back to the paddock, McLaren had to bring their session to a premature close for the Briton.
With two red flags - the first for Norris and the second for some stray rubber on the track - there was a limited time to get information for the teams as they prepared for Friday afternoon’s qualifying session.
The results will give the running order for Saturday’s sprint race, offering points for the drivers’ and constructors’ championships, as well as setting track order for Sunday’s race proper. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas will start at the back of the grid with a new internal combustion engine and three other replacement parts.
With Verstappen fastest, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took second, George Russell of Mercedes was third and his teammate Lewis Hamilton fifth, and Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz took fourth and seventh respectively.
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