Verstappen fastest in Austria despite sensor glitch

SPIELBERG, Austria - Red Bull's Max Verstappen was quickest in sole practice for the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday despite stopping on the main straight with an engine sensor issue and briefly halting the session.

Austria is a sprint weekend, the third such of the 24-round Formula One season, with qualifying for Saturday morning's 100km race held later on Friday rather than the usual second free practice.

Championship leader Verstappen lapped the Red Bull Ring with a fastest time of one minute 05.685 seconds with McLaren's Oscar Piastri, a new front wing on his car, 0.276 slower.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third quickest, 0.370 off the pace, with team mate Carlos Sainz fourth and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton fifth, with the latter's best lap on the hard tyres rather than softs.

Alpine's Esteban Ocon lapped sixth fastest with Aston Martin's Lance Stroll seventh, Mercedes' George Russell eighth, RB's Yuki Tsunoda ninth and Fernando Alonso completing the top 10 for Aston Martin.

The time difference between Verstappen and Alonso was only 0.918.

Verstappen, who dominated at the same circuit last year and has a 69 point lead after 10 races, set his best time on the soft tyres with four minutes to go.

He had stopped with 28 minutes remaining when his engine cut out but parked near a gap in the pit wall and was swiftly wheeled back to the garage.

The triple world champion stayed in the car while the problem was fixed and then returned to the track with around a minute lost and no further problems.

The sensor problem was still a worry for Red Bull, with Verstappen already in danger of an engine penalty at some point this season after reaching the limit of four engines.

McLaren's Lando Norris, Verstappen's closest championship rival, was only 13th on the timesheets after setting the fastest first sector time and then running wide into the gravel at turn four with a minute remaining.

"In a sprint event, you only have one session so you need to take some risks," said McLaren principal Andrea Stella. "If you go a little bit over the limit then you may experience the gravel.

"But no problem, the car didn't get damaged, and we are ready for qualifying." REUTERS