Meanwhile, sprint pole-setter Verstappen was within two tenths of his title times, but appeared to show the most impressive long-term pace as the Alps raced ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez. With just 25 minutes to go, the Ferraris climbed to the top of the timing screens as they bolted to a set of the fastest C5 soft tires available. Leclerc clocked 1m08.660s to sit temporarily quicker and would not improve from there, losing 0.9s in his subsequent laps to assess the durability of the red-wall tyre. With 18 minutes to run, Sainz then set the benchmark for the session, completing the 2.68-mile lap in 1m08.610s to find Leclerc’s five-hundred and beat the times. He was just two laps behind Leclerc, 40 to 42, but will start the sprint race from third, one place behind his Monegasque team-mate who was overshadowed in qualifying by Verstappen late on. The defending champion ended the session third, falling 0.168s clear of the fastest Ferrari, as Verstappen finished practice running at Red Bull’s home ground in 1m08.778s. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18 Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images Verstappen had set the pace during the first part of the session when race pace was the focus, although the teams split between targeting the sprint competition or the full Grand Prix. The Alfa Romeo, Haas and Aston Martin cars were out first in the hour-long morning session and were joined by the McLaren of Lando Norris, who won an early tow from Leclerc across the line to set a 1m10.670s effort on medium tires to initially head the pack. Verstappen joined the action five minutes ago, with Red Bull seemingly emphasizing simulating the sprint race by running on softs, while Ferrari kept to medium tyres. With the advantage of the C5 compound, Verstappen’s first representative effort stopped the clock in 1m09.170s to clear Sainz by 0.3s and Leclerc, then take third. Verstappen then dropped it to 1m09.067s to claw four tenths ahead and after being told to hold fifth gear between turns 6 and 7, dipped to 1m08s with a 1m08.966s effort. That put Verstappen 0.2s ahead of Sainz’s best early run as part of the races, with Leclerc 0.6s off the outright pace, even if his season average was faster than his teammate of. Russell entered the session 11 minutes behind after floor and gearbox repairs following Q3’s distortion at the final corner, with the Mercedes going out on soft tires to run third fastest as part of the race. He sat in a 1m09.240s, 0.3s clear of Verstappen, while splitting the Ferrari pair, who then let a couple of mistakes slip – Leclerc ran at Turn 3, Sainz locked up at Turn 1. As Perez continued to lose the battle at the front of the grid, it allowed the Alpines to come to the fore in the overall times as Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon traded places. It was finally two-time F1 world champion Alonso who had the measure, lapping in 1m08.832s to find a narrow 0.16s over Ocon – with Perez eventually sixth in 1m09.179s. Fernando Alonso, Alpine A522 Photo: Alessio Morgese The Mexican will start the sprint race from 13th, having erased his Q3 times for a late violation of track limits in Q2 that prevented Pierre Gasly from taking part in the top-10 shootout for the sprint pole race. George Russell, the only driver to adopt the slower hard tyre, finished seventh. His Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton was ninth behind his former stablemate Valtteri Bottas, the seven-time champion not emerging until 14 minutes remaining as a legacy of his heavy Q3 detour. Hamilton set just one quick lap on the softs, clocking a 1m09.350 to finish ninth ahead of Lando Norris, the McLaren making up for lost time after Q2 brake problems. Lance Stroll ran Gasly, while Sebastian Vettel ran 13th fastest – his session included a run over the jagged curb at the edge of the final corner to drop a piece of carbon fiber. Zhou Guanyu was 14th fastest ahead of Mick Schumacher, Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo as Kevin Magnussen, Yuki Tsunoda and Nicholas Latifi brought up the rear. Austrian GP F1 Results – FP2
