The 2024 Austrian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Austrian Grand Prix 2024) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 30 June 2024, at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. It was the eleventh round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship and the third Grand Prix weekend of the season to utilise the sprint format.
Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen won the sprint from pole position, and also took pole position for the main race. Verstappen led the majority of the race, but with eight laps to go Verstappen and McLaren's Lando Norris collided as they fought for the lead. This dropped both drivers down the order, with Verstappen recovering to fifth and Norris retiring because of damage sustained from the collision. George Russell took his second career race win in Formula One, as well as Mercedes's first race victory since the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix. Russell was joined on the podium by Norris's teammate Oscar Piastri, and Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr.
Following the race, the top five for both sets of standings remained unchanged, with Verstappen increasing his lead over Norris to 81 points. Charles Leclerc trailed Norris by six points in third. Red Bull extended their lead in the standings to 64 points over Ferrari.
Background The event was held at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg for the 20th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 28–30 June. The Grand Prix was the eleventh round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship and the 37th running of the Austrian Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship. It was also the third Grand Prix of six in the season to utilise the sprint format and the third time overall to feature it.
Championship standings before the race Going into the weekend, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship with 219 points, 69 points ahead of Lando Norris in second, and 71 ahead of Charles Leclerc in third. Red Bull Racing, with 330 points, led the Constructors' Championship from Ferrari and McLaren, who are second and third with 270 and 237 points, respectively.
Entrants
The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race.
Tyre choices
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C3, C4, and C5 tyre compounds (the three softest in their range) designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at this event.
Track changes
After the previous iteration of the race saw 1,200 potential track limit violations, the Red Bull Ring took steps to prevent a repeat of the issues. Gravel traps were installed and some track limits were moved closer to existing gravel traps to deter drivers from running wide. Additionally, a contrasting blue line on the outside of the white track limits line was painted to increase visibility and contrast for stewards reviewing possible violations.
Practice The only free practice session was held on 28 June 2024, at 12:30 local time (UTC+2), and was topped by Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing ahead of Oscar Piastri of McLaren and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.
Sprint qualifying Sprint qualifying was held on 28 June 2024, at 16:30 local time (UTC+2), and determined the starting grid order for the sprint.
Sprint qualifying classification DriverConstructorSprintgridSQ1SQ2SQ311 Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT1:05.6901:05.1861:04.686124 Lando NorrisMcLaren-Mercedes1:05.7861:05.5611:04.7792381 Oscar PiastriMcLaren-Mercedes1:06.0811:05.3791:04.9873463 George RussellMercedes1:05.7641:05.3251:05.0544555 Carlos Sainz Jr.Ferrari1:05.7811:05.4351:05.1265644 Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:06.5041:05.5391:05.2706711 Sergio PérezRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT1:06.2561:05.6121:06.0087831 Esteban OconAlpine-Renault1:06.3431:05.6861:06.1018910 Pierre GaslyAlpine-Renault1:06.4651:05.7571:06.62491016 Charles LeclercFerrari1:06.1491:05.526No time101120Haas-Ferrari1:06.3871:05.806N/A111218 Lance Stroll1:06.0371:05.847N/A121314 Fernando Alonso1:06.4871:05.878N/A131422 Yuki TsunodaRB-Honda RBPT1:06.5571:05.960N/A14152 Logan SargeantWilliams-Mercedes1:06.518 No timeN/A15163 Daniel RicciardoRB-Honda RBPT1:06.581N/AN/A161727Haas-Ferrari1:06.583N/AN/A171877 Valtteri BottasKick Sauber-Ferrari1:06.725N/AN/A181923 Alexander AlbonWilliams-Mercedes1:06.754N/AN/A2024 Zhou GuanyuKick Sauber-Ferrari1:07.197N/AN/A19107% time: 1:10.288Source: Notes – Alexander Albon qualified 19th, but was required to start the sprint from the pit lane due to changes made to the set up of his car during parc fermé.
Sprint The sprint was held on 29 June 2024, at 12:00 local time (UTC+2), and was scheduled to be run for 24 laps before being shortened by one lap due to an aborted start procedure.
Sprint classification DriverConstructorTime/RetiredPoints11 Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT23 26:41.38918281 Oscar PiastriMcLaren-Mercedes23 +4.6163734 Lando NorrisMcLaren-Mercedes23 +5.34826463 George RussellMercedes23 +8.35445555 Carlos Sainz Jr.Ferrari23 +9.98954644 Lewis HamiltonMercedes23 +11.20763716 Charles LeclercFerrari23 +13.424102811 Sergio PérezRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT23 +17.40971920Haas-Ferrari23 +24.067111018 Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco-Mercedes23 +30.175121131 Esteban OconAlpine-Renault23 +30.83981210 Pierre GaslyAlpine-Renault23 +31.30891322 Yuki TsunodaRB-Honda RBPT23 +35.45214143 Daniel RicciardoRB-Honda RBPT23 +39.397 16 1514 Fernando Alonso23 +43.15513162 Logan SargeantWilliams-Mercedes23 +44.076151723 Alexander AlbonWilliams-Mercedes23 +44.6731877 Valtteri BottasKick Sauber-Ferrari23 +46.511181927Haas-Ferrari23 +48.42317 2024 Zhou GuanyuKick Sauber-Ferrari23 +53.14319Fastest lap: Lando Norris (McLaren-Mercedes) – 1:08.935 (lap 2)Source: Notes – The sprint distance was scheduled to be completed for 24 laps before being shortened by one lap due to an aborted start procedure. – Nico Hülkenberg finished 14th on track, but received a post-sprint ten-second time penalty for forcing Fernando Alonso off track at turn 3.
Qualifying Qualifying was held on 29 June 2024, at 16:00 local time (UTC+2), and determined the starting order for the main race.
Qualifying classification DriverConstructorQ1Q2Q311 Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT1:05.3361:04.4691:04.314124 Lando NorrisMcLaren-Mercedes1:05.4501:05.1031:04.7182363 George RussellMercedes1:05.5851:05.0161:04.8403455 Carlos Sainz Jr.Ferrari1:05.2631:05.0161:04.8514544 Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:05.5411:05.0531:04.9035616 Charles LeclercFerrari1:05.5091:05.1041:05.0446781 Oscar PiastriMcLaren-Mercedes1:05.3111:05.0701:05.0487811 Sergio PérezRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT1:05.5871:05.1441:05.2028927Haas-Ferrari1:05.5961:05.262 1:05.38591031 Esteban OconAlpine-Renault1:05.5741:05.2741:05.88310113 Daniel RicciardoRB-Honda RBPT1:05.5691:05.289N/A111220Haas-Ferrari1:05.5081:05.347N/A121310 Pierre GaslyAlpine-Renault1:05.5981:05.359N/A131422 Yuki TsunodaRB-Honda RBPT1:05.5631:05.412N/A141514 Fernando Alonso1:05.6561:05.639N/A151623 Alexander AlbonWilliams-Mercedes1:05.736N/AN/A161718 Lance Stroll1:05.819N/AN/A171877 Valtteri BottasKick Sauber-Ferrari1:05.847N/AN/A18192 Logan SargeantWilliams-Mercedes1:05.856N/AN/A192024 Zhou GuanyuKick Sauber-Ferrari1:06.061N/AN/A107% time: 1:09.831Source: Notes – Zhou Guanyu qualified 20th, but was required to start the race from the pit lane due to changes made to the set up of his car during parc fermé.
Race The race was held on 30 June 2024, at 15:00 local time (UTC+2), and was run for 71 laps.
Race report At the start, Verstappen got a clear getaway from Norris while the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and the Williams of Logan Sargeant both sustained front wing damage in separate incidents and had to pit for repairs. Throughout the race, the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly were involved in a battle with Gasly winning out. Verstappen kept his lead through the first round of pit stops from Norris; during his second stop on lap 52, his crew swapped him into a pair of older medium tyres. However, the pitstop was a slow six seconds because of issues with the left rear tyre; this was further compounded as Verstappen was held to give way to Norris who was in the pit lane for his own pit stop. Norris closed the gap and would make several overtake attempts at turn 3 over the following laps. Verstappen successfully defended against Norris, who would be penalised for breaching track limits.
With eight laps remaining, Norris attempted an overtake on the outside line at turn 3, but there was a collision with Verstappen as the latter tried to block him off. Both of them sustained punctures, with third-placed driver George Russell taking the lead as Verstappen and Norris had to pit. Verstappen continued at low speed while Norris's tyre punctured at high speed, causing race-ending damage to his McLaren. Verstappen fitted new tyres and would eventually recover to fifth; the race stewards gave Verstappen a ten-second time penalty for causing the collision. Russell won the race from Oscar Piastri, who passed Carlos Sainz Jr. for second with seven laps remaining, as Sainz followed in third and Russell's teammate Lewis Hamilton finished fourth from Verstappen.
Post-race debrief When asked about his friendship with Verstappen off-track and how the clash would affect them, Norris stated his belief that "He (Verstappen) was in the wrong, so he's the one that should say something, not me." Verstappen on the other hand stated he would like to "let things cool off" and was "more annoyed with just how the performance of the race was, the mistakes that we made that normally we don’t make.” Verstappen later said that the crash did not affect his friendship with Norris. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella claimed that "the entire population in the world [knows] who is responsible, except for a group of people," comparing the incident to moments in Verstappen's past rivalry with Hamilton during the 2021 season. Russell stated he was happy to "pick up the pieces" of Norris and Verstappen's incident to win.
Race classification DriverConstructorTime/RetiredPoints 163 George Russell Mercedes 71 1:24:22.7983 25 281 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 71 +1.9067 18 355 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 71 +4.5334 15 444 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 71 +23.1425 12 5 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 71 +37.253 1 10 627 Haas-Ferrari 71 +54.0889 8 711 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT71 +54.6728 6 820 Haas-Ferrari 71 +1:00.35512 4 93 Daniel Ricciardo RB-Honda RBPT 71 +1:01.16911 2 1010 Pierre GaslyAlpine-Renault 71 +1:01.76613 1 11 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 71 +1:07.056 6 1231 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 71 +1:08.32510 1318 Lance Stroll 70 +1 lap17 1422 Yuki Tsunoda RB-Honda RBPT 70 +1 lap14 1523 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 70 +1 lap16 1677 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber-Ferrari 70 +1 lap18 1724 Zhou GuanyuKick Sauber-Ferrari70 +1 lap 1814 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes70 +1 lap15 192 Logan SargeantWilliams-Mercedes 69 +2 laps19 20 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 64 2 Fastest lap: Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes) – 1:07.694 (lap 70)Source: Notes – Max Verstappen received a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision with Lando Norris. His final position was not affected by the penalty. – Alexander Albon finished 14th, but received a five-second time penalty for crossing the line at pit entry. – Lando Norris was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance. He also received a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. The penalty made no difference as he was classified in the last position.
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Driver Points1 Max Verstappen2372 Lando Norris1563 Charles Leclerc1504 Carlos Sainz Jr.1355 Sergio Pérez118Source:
Constructors' Championship standings Constructor Points1 Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT3552 Ferrari2913 McLaren-Mercedes2684 Mercedes196558Source: