Verstappen Dominates Austrian GP Practice as Red Bull Show Ominous Pace

Dutchman Topping Timesheets Despite Mid-Session Red Flag

Max Verstappen dominated the sole practice session for Formula 1’s 2024 Austrian Grand Prix, topping the timesheets despite causing a mid-session red flag. The Dutch driver, who currently sits second in the Formula 1 standings, set the benchmark at 1m07m961s on the medium tyres, ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who opted for the hard compound.

As the session progressed, Hamilton took the lead with a 1m06.254s, followed closely by Russell, while Verstappen sat third. The Mercedes cars seemed to be gaining pace, but Verstappen’s Red Bull RB20 was not to be underestimated. After a brief lull in action, the pack headed out again, focusing on higher-fuel running and lapping several seconds off the earlier pace.

“The issue was resolved quickly, and Verstappen was back out on track almost immediately.”

However, the session was interrupted by a red flag just past the halfway stage when Verstappen stopped on the run to Turn 1 with an “engine fault” that developed after he had run wide at Turn 1 and then made a steering switch change to his high-speed differential settings. His RB20 then lost drive, and Verstappen could not coax it back into life before halting it on the pit straight.

The marshals pushed Verstappen back into the pitlane, and he returned to the Red Bull garage before the session resumed after a near-five minute stoppage. Fortunately, the issue was resolved quickly, and Verstappen was back out on track almost immediately.

In the final 10 minutes, the drivers switched to the softer compounds, and Charles Leclerc briefly took the top spot with a 1m06.055s on the red-walled soft compound. However, Verstappen reclaimed the top spot with a blistering 1m05.685s, which ended up as the session’s best time.

Issues thwarted several of his rivals, including Russell, who was held up by a Sauber at Turn 4, and Lando Norris, who locked up and slid off into the gravel just as he had set the session’s best time in the first sector using the softs. This left Oscar Piastri to stay second in the other McLaren, 0.276s slower than Verstappen, while Hamilton concentrated on the hards late on.

The final order behind the top three saw Carlos Sainz, Hamilton, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, Russell, Yuki Tsunoda, and Fernando Alonso. Norris’s off meant he finished down in 13th, one place behind Sergio Perez in the other RB20.

Formula 1 today has shown that Verstappen is a force to be reckoned with, and his dominance in practice sets the stage for an exciting Austrian Grand Prix. With the Formula 1 tyres playing a crucial role in the session, it will be interesting to see how the teams adapt to the challenging Red Bull Ring circuit.

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