F1: Austrian Grand Prix – live | Formula One

Lap 41/71: Gasly and Ocon are having really pushing each other, reaching eighth and ninth after the Frenchman put his foot down.

Lap 40/71: Verstappen says his tyres are “really bad”. He is still breezing at the front, so they can’t be too, can they?

Lap 39/71: Leclerc is down in 17th and is still being told he can get up to 10th. I look forward to seeing how he plans to achieve this, especially with another stop likely.

Lap 38/71: Norris is in second, eight seconds clear of Russell. He has had no issues in this and would be very happy with this result if he can hold on.

Lap 37/71: Alonso takes his 10-second time penalty and then there is a change of tyres.

Piastri is chasing down Hamilton for fifth. That could be the most interesting duel in the top sixth.

Lap 36/71: We are halfway through this race and it is going as everyone expected: Verstappen is laughing at the front.

Alonso is in 13th after Ocon and Gasly moved past him. The Spaniard heads into the pits.

Lap 35/71: Hamilton might have some floor damage. He’s had a bit of an irksome race thus far, that will irritate him more so.

Lap 34/71: Norris has bettered his fastest lap. He knows speed does that lad.

Leclerc in for his third pit!

Lap 33/71: Ocon and Gasly are enjoying a Alpine battle down at 12th and 13th. There is almost some contact as fight for position.

Lap 32/71: Everyone has pitted, with Leclerc and Sargeant already on two.

Perez gets a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Lap 31/71: The wind is picking up, making conditions a little trickier for the drivers. They will need to keep things balanced amid the gusts.

Lap 30/71: Leclerc is picking up speed and Ferrari think if he carries on like this, he will pick up some points. He is currently 18th.

Lap 29/71: Sounds like Verstappen is nursing a problem, allowing his team to analyse it.

Lap 28/71: Verstappen seems to be having some gear issues and is told to leave it in seventh.

Lap 27/71: In case you were wondering, Verstappen is breezing at the front.

1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2 Lando Norris (McLaren)
3 George Russell (Mercedes)
4 Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
5 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
6 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

Lap 26/71: Piastri pits and settles back into sixth place.

Hamilton apologies for his bookable offence. He knows it was his fault.

Stewards are having a look at the Verstappen release and whether it was unsafe when he nipped in front of Norris.

Lap 25/71: Norris is unhappy that Verstappen came out of his pit stop right in front of him. Was it safe? I am sure someone will tell us.

Alonso gets a 10-second penalty for bumping Zhou.

Lap 24/71: Verstappen, Russell and Norris go into the pits. They come out behind Piastri, who is yet to pit.

A five second penalty for Hamilton for his indiscretion by the sounds of it.

Lap 23/71: Hamilton under investigation for crossing the white line upon pit entry. Will he be punished for a momentary lapse in concentration?

Lap 22/71: The stewards will look at the Zhou-Alonso incident.

Hamilton heads into the pit and comes back out with hard tyres. A risk worth taking?

Lap 21/71: Verstappen is cruising along at the front. The cameras are barely bothering to check on him because everyone knows how this is ending.

Alonso bumps Zhou off the track. “What the f*** is he doing?” bemoans the Sauber man.

Lap 20/71: Ocon pits and comes out in 17th after a gloriously routine session with the mechanics.

Lap 19/71: The two Haas cars breeze past Zhou. Magnussen and Hulkenberg look keen to do some racing here.

No one seems too happy with the hard tyre. Will everyone be eager to get the mediums on?

Lap 18/71: Leclerc comes out in last place and looks set to be lapped by Verstappen very soon. Not a great day for the Ferrari driver.

Lap 17/71: Leclerc looks like he needs a second pit. Hopefully he will be able to sort out any issues from the earlier contact. He is back out on the mediums.

Lap 16/71: This front three are going to breeze to being covered in champagne later.

Lap 15/71: Leclerc is struggling at the back and has been overtaken by Albon. That Ferrari should be doing better.

Lap 14/71: Russell was hoping podium today and he is looking good in third, three seconds ahead of Sainz.

He will not be finishing first, however, because Verstappen is already five and a half seconds up on Norris.

Lap 13/71: Magnussen and Hulkenberg are now in a battle for 15th. Who will win?

Lap 12/71: Haas look like they have a plan involving a three-stop strategy as Hulkenberg also comes in.

Lap 11/71: Some pits already happening. Magnussen and Ricciardo come in for a meet and greet with the mechanics, exiting on hard tyres.

Lap 10/71: Despite being unable to keep up with Verstappen, Norris currently has the fastest lap.

Lap 9/71: Track conditions seem to be causing a bit of understeer making things a little trickier for drivers.

Hamilton let Sainz through to avoid any further action on an incident at turn one.

Lap 8/71: Verstappen is more than three seconds ahead of Norris now. Really does look like it will be a straightforward day out for the Dutchman.

Lap 7/71: Hamilton is looking to get beyond Sainz. He is right behind him and is pushing him on every turn. Sainz is battling away to fend him off the man who will replace him at Ferrari next season.

Lap 6/71: Stewards are looking at the incident between Piastri and Leclerc.

Lap 5/71: Perez has earned himself a couple of places, otherwise we are as you were at the start.

1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2 Lando Norris (McLaren)
3 George Russell (Mercedes)
4 Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
5 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
6 Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

Lap 4/71: Leclerc is back out way down in 19th. He made contact with Piastri who might still have a bit of damage to his car.

Verstappen seems to be growing his lead every lap.

Lap 3/71: Hamilton is chasing down Russell … and he goes past him but then Russell does the same. What a fun few seconds that was.

Lap 2/71: Leclerc has to get into the pit to get a front wing change. That has gone badly.

Verstappen is over a second ahead of Norris. Very much seems like Verstappen needs to make a mistake to give away the lead.

Lap 1/71: Verstappen gets off to a great start and maintains his first position. Hamilton and Sainz almost make contact a little way back but everyone seems to get through unscathed. Nope, Leclerc has lost a bit of his front wing.

Lights out

The Austrian national anthem and a few military helicopters. We must be close to race time. It sounds like a Christian rock song at this stage.

Jos Verstappen on Max: “He knows what to do, I don’t get involved.”

Martin Brundle gets onto the grid for a little wander. Hans Zimmer says “I am just about to ruin Mozart forever. If you come here, you might as well go for broke.” Something to look forward to.

“If you take Max out of the race, this would be compelling,” say Sky Sports. It’s not exactly a big sell.

The cars are on the track as the drivers make their final preparations for the race. The wind is picking up in Austria.

Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu is starting the race from the pit lane after making a few adjustments to his car.

We have a whopping 71 laps today. That makes pitting strategy crucial. This is the sort of race that can be won or lost in the pits. The pressure is on.

Where will Verstappen go next?

A day where you need a hat that provides shade.

Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda has been fined €40,000 after he called a fellow Formula One driver “f****** retarded” in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Tsunoda, who competes for Red Bull’s junior team, RB, took aim at Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu over the radio after he believed he was obstructed in the pit-lane. “These guys are f****** retarded,” he yelled.

Tsunoda, 24, was hauled before the stewards who slapped him with a 40,000 EUR (£33,901) fine – with half of the sanction suspended until the remainder of the season.

A statement from Formula One’s governing FIA read: “He contended that his understanding of the words was different, but acknowledged that this should not be considered as an excuse for what he did.”

Sport pricing out its fans? Never!

George Russell fancies getting a on the podium today. It is a hot day in Austria which will make things a little less fun for the drivers.

Preamble