SPARKS BETWEEN MAX AND SERGIO, BUT DOUBLE SPRINT WIN FOR RED BULL

Max Verstappen took another Sprint Victory during the Austrian Grand Prix. The Dutchman had a close battle with Sergio Perez on the first lap, but he was able to claw his way back into the lead and beat his team-mate by more than 22 seconds.

This was, for sure, the most spectacular Sprint since this format was introduced.

With delicate start conditions and slowly drying asphalt, the variety of strategies brought many overtakings, especially in the middle of the order where Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc had a great fight.

Max Verstappen, yes, was a clear favorite to win the Victory, and no one expected that he would be hard pressed by his teammate at the start, but already in the third corner he regained the first place and, from there, his pace was unattainable.

The most tense moment was at the very start of the sprint, in the first meters. Max didn't get off to the best start and let Sergio Perez overtake him on the way to the first corner. But the work did not end there.

The Dutchman had a better exit from the first corner and tried to overtake his teammate, but he was "pushed out" and ended up on the grass by the track with his right wheels, and we all know how dangerous that is when we have a wet track.

Revenge came in the third corner, Max braked very late and returned to first place, but in doing so he did not leave much room for his team mate, who soon after lost the position to Nico Hulkenberg.

Over the team radios both drivers complained to their engineers, but you could tell they were both on the verge of an incident, something uncharacteristic of a team like Red Bull.

From that point, Max was able to impose his pace and Perez had to deal with Hulkenberg, who he overtook when the German's tires started to fail, on the twelfth lap.

It is true that Perez lost a lot of time behind Hulkenberg, but we must also point out that, when he had already overtaken Haas' car, he was 9.8 seconds behind his team-mate with half a sprint to go.

By the end of the Sprint, that gap had grown to 22 seconds. That is, in the second half of the Sprint the Mexican lost more than 11 seconds to the leading Red Bull, more than he lost behind Hulkenberg!

Surely Max after the chaos in the first lap wanted to show his true pace to make it clear that he has no rival in Red Bull. But one thing seems clear, this will not end there.

The solid Carlos Sainz Jr. finished third, while the Aston Martin drivers completed the Top 5 standings, with Lance Stroll fourth and Fernando Alonso fifth.

Nico Hulkenberg with worn out intermediate tires, but in the points standings, was one of the first drivers to enter the pits for slick tires, and that earned him sixth place and three points, ahead of Esteban Ocon and George Russell who was the first driver to he put on slick tires, which earned him a point ranking.