WATCH: Carlos Sainz's blistering move to steal P4 from George Russell in a thrilling battle

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen turned his pole position into a victory in the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint on Saturday afternoon, triumphing over the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in an exhilarating display of wheel-to-wheel racing. However, a wheel-to-wheel fight for P4 between George Russell and Carlos Sainz put up a show in Austria.

Just after the start of the shortened sprint race, Russell and Sainz faced each other in a wheel-to-wheel fight to clinch an early lead. Russell, in his Mercedes, failed to handle surging Sainz who pushed a lot with his amazing driving skills to take the fourth position. 

Here is the video:

Keep your eye on Sainz and Russell (behind the front three) 👀



The Spaniard's determination and skill pays off in the end 💪#F1Sprint #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/vgoJ8BwOhh

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 29, 2024

However, later in the race, Russell showcased his brilliance by taking back his position. In the second half of the race Russell and Hamilton charged from P5 and P6 to trap Sainz in between as Russell crossed him using DRS while Hamilton Sandwiched him at P5 position.

Also WATCH: Max Verstappen's 1000 IQ move to win three-way battle

Max Verstappen dominates at the Red Bull Ring

A thrilling, ultra-close battle in Sprint Qualifying saw Max Verstappen secure pole position, edging out Lando Norris, with Oscar Piastri in third. George Russell, Carlos Sainz, and Lewis Hamilton followed, with Hamilton calling his session “pretty disastrous” after a mistake on his final run.

Before the start, Alex Albon was moved from 19th on the grid to the pit lane due to various set-up adjustments on his Williams after struggling in SQ1. All 20 drivers started on the yellow-marked medium C4 tyre, revealed when the tyre blankets came off for the formation lap.

Also WATCH: Alex Albon's 'magnificent' double overtake

After an aborted start, Verstappen made a clean getaway, maintaining his lead over Norris into the first corner, with Norris fending off an attack from Piastri on the run to Turn 3. Now all the paddock will be back in a few hours for the Austrian Grand Prix qualification.