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HIGHLIGHTS: Watch a dramatic Sprint encounter in Austria as Verstappen battles back against Perez to win
Sprint Highlights: 2023 Austrian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen was in supreme form as he battled back against his Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez to take victory in the Sprint encounter in Austria.
On Red Bull’s home circuit in Spielberg, it was the Mexican – starting P2 on the grid following the earlier Sprint Shootout – who got the better start off the line to overtake Verstappen in damp conditions. The current championship leader fought back immediately and attacked Perez into Turn 3, with both going wide in the corner causing a bottleneck of cars.
Verstappen soon reclaimed P1 but Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg also got into the mix, as he then overtook Perez to take P2 of the race at Turn 4.
While the experienced Haas driver’s efforts were admirable, he was passed later on in the 100km dash, with the Mexican reclaiming second place as Red Bull soon went on to celebrate a brilliant one-two finish.
Lando Norris, who had started the Sprint in P3, was one of the big losers after being caught up in the aforementioned bottleneck at Turn 3, dropping a number of places. He would eventually come home in ninth and out of the points, while Mercedes’ George Russell clawed his way up from P15 to take P8.
Watch the highlights from the thrilling Sprint in Austria by clicking the video above.