Austrian Grand Prix LIVE: Hamilton starts eighth as Leclerc needs to beat Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton discusses his experience with race at Formula 1

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Lewis Hamilton will have plenty of work to do to climb up the order and secure an unlikely podium finish at today’s Austrian Grand Prix. The 37-year-old was forced to settle for an eighth-placed finish in Saturday’s sprint event after being frustrated by both Haas drivers but will be desperate to make plenty of progress towards the front of the grid over the course of this afternoon’s 71-lap contest.

Max Verstappen will start from pole position and will be looking to record yet another impressive victory at Spielberg in order to stretch his advantage in the Drivers’ Championship standings. The Dutchman has already won three times in Austria and will once again be supported by the Orange Army at this year’s event, which marks Red Bull’s home race.

Charles Leclerc will be hoping to trouble Verstappen off the line, though, as he looks to cut his rival’s comfortable lead by pipping him to the chequered flag this afternoon. The Ferrari driver will be 51 points adrift of Verstappen if he finishes in second place and the latter wins in Austria, with Leclerc needing to start closing the gap as quickly as possible in order to revive his fading hopes of clinching the end-of-season honours.

Follow Express Sport‘s live updates below.

KEY EVENTS

Sprint recap

Max Verstappen breezed to a simple victory ahead of Charles Leclerc at the end of Saturday’s thrilling sprint event at the Red Bull Ring.

The Dutchman was simply too quick for his Ferrari rival, who picked up the pace towards the end of the contest but was unable to mount a sustained challenge for the lead.

Carlos Sainz managed to secure a third-placed grid position for today’s race after finishing just behind Leclerc, with George Russell crossing the line in fourth.

It was a hugely frustrating session for Lewis Hamilton, though, with the Mercedes driver being held at arm’s length by Mick Schumacher until he was finally able to squeeze down the inside with only a few laps remaining.

Catch up on the full story here.

Good afternoon

Hello and welcome to Express Sport‘s live coverage of this year’s Austrian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen has performed well at the Red Bull Ring in previous seasons and will be aiming to secure yet another victory ahead of Charles Leclerc at the end of today’s 71-lap contest.

The Ferrari driver will be equally desperate to take the chequered flag, though, as he looks to revive his fading hopes of Drivers’ Championship glory by chipping away at the gap to Verstappen this afternoon.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, will have a difficult job to secure a podium finish from eighth place on the grid after his lacklustre showing in Saturday’s sprint event.

We’ll be on hand to keep you updated with all the day’s running in Austria, with the five red lights set to go out in just over an hour’s time.

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