Max Verstappen wasted no time in calling for talks after winning the Austrian Grand Prix sprint on Saturday. A near miss involving Sergio Perez had both drivers venting over the team radio, before the Red Bull duo went on to dominate the contest.
Better traction off the line saw Perez temporarily leapfrog Verstappen and into top spot. The Dutchman then felt he was forced wide on the exit of Turn 1, with the frantic wheel-to-wheel tussle continuing up the hill towards Turn 2.
Once there, Verstappen dove up the inside to reclaim that lead from his team-mate as the flurry of drivers behind struggled to get to grips with the damp conditions. The reigning double world champion kept hold of his lead for the remainder of the 24-lap sprint race.
Despite putting eight more points on the board as he powers towards Drivers’ Championship number three, Verstappen was not entirely pleased when being congratulated by team boss Christian Horner on the team radio after the race.
“Yeah, good race,” he said. “Just the exit of Turn 1… that was not really nice. It could have been a really big shunt so we need to have a chat about that.”
Verstappen did exactly that after the chequered flag as he was caught on camera having an intense discussion with Perez over exactly what happened in the opening exchanges at the Red Bull Ring.
Ultimately, the Red Bull pairing came away with the ideal result as Perez completed yet another one-two by finishing second. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took the final step on the podium, with the Aston Martin duo of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso clinching fourth and fifth respectively.
There was a strong showing for Nico Hulkenberg, who started in P4 and ended up in P6, while George Russell timed his switch to slick tyres perfectly, which allowed him to surge through the field and take eighth spot, less than one-hundredth of a second behind Esteban Ocon.
On the battle between Verstappen and Perez, Horner told Sky Sports after the race: “They’ve spoken about it. I think Checo had Max unsighted there on the right-hand side, so thankfully they didn’t collect each other and a one-two finish is a great result for the team.
“The rules are very fair: race hard but give each other space. [Turn] one and [turn] three, they did that, it was just the bit in the middle where it got a bit tasty, but I think maybe Checo didn’t see Max.”
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