Austrian GP - Free Practice

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Qatar Airways Austrian GP

Free Practice 1

June 28, 2024

During the sole practice session before the Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen from Red Bull was the fastest despite facing an engine sensor issue that caused a brief stoppage on the main straight.

The Austrian Grand Prix weekend is designed as a sprint event, the third such format in the 24-round Formula One season. Qualifying for Saturday morning's 100km race took place on Friday, replacing the usual second free practice session.

Leading the championship, Verstappen set the fastest time of 1:05.685 at the Red Bull Ring, with McLaren's Oscar Piastri coming in 0.276 seconds slower with a new front wing.

Following Verstappen, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third, Carlos Sainz fourth, and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton fifth, who set his best lap on hard tires rather than soft ones.

Alpine's Esteban Ocon was sixth fastest, Lance Stroll from Aston Martin seventh, George Russell from Mercedes eighth, Yuki Tsunoda from RB ninth, and Fernando Alonso completed the top 10 for Aston Martin.

The time gap between Verstappen and Alonso was just 0.918 seconds.

Verstappen, who had a significant lead in the championship, set his fastest time on soft tires with four minutes remaining in the session.

Despite experiencing an engine cut-out issue that led to a brief stoppage, Verstappen managed to return to the track swiftly after the problem was fixed, losing only a minute of track time.

Red Bull remained concerned about the sensor issue, as Verstappen was nearing the limit of four engines and could face an engine penalty later in the season.

Verstappen's closest rival in the championship, McLaren's Lando Norris, finished 13th on the timesheets after running wide into the gravel at turn four in the final minute of the session.

McLaren principal Andrea Stella commented, "In a sprint event, you only have one session so you need to take some risks,"

"If you go a little bit over the limit then you may experience the gravel. "But no problem, the car didn't get damaged, and we are ready for qualifying."

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