(Reuters) – Formula One’s newest winner Carlos Sainz led Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc one-two in final practice for the Austrian Grand Prix, ahead of Saturday’s sprint race.
The Spaniard, third on the grid for the 24-lap race behind Red Bull’s pole-sitting championship leader Max Verstappen and Leclerc, lapped the scenic Red Bull Ring in one minute 08.610 seconds.
Leclerc was 0.050 slower with Verstappen 0.168 behind.
Renault-owned Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, who left the pits only in the second half of the hour-long session, were an impressive fourth and fifth ahead of Sergio Perez in sixth.
The Mexican, Verstappen’s team mate, will start the sprint from 13th place after being demoted for exceeding track limits in qualifying.
Mercedes were back in action after Lewis Hamilton and George Russell crashed in the final phase of Friday’s qualifying, with the team carrying out extensive repairs.
Russell, who emerged from the pits a little over 10 minutes into the session, was seventh quickest. Hamilton, who switched to a spare chassis, was on track with 13 minutes to go and did 14 laps with the ninth fastest time.
Russell is set to start the sprint from fourth with his seven-times world champion team mate ninth.
Verstappen leads the standings by 34 points from Perez and is 43 clear of third-placed Leclerc. The Austrian Grand Prix marks the halfway point of the 22-race season.
The Dutch 24-year-old, bidding to return Red Bull to the top of the podium after Sainz ended their six-race winning streak with his first win last Sunday at Silverstone, won both races at the first sprint event of the season in Imola.
The format made its debut last year, with qualifying on Friday deciding the grid for a shorter 100km race on Saturday that also offers points.
The results on Saturday then set the starting order for Sunday’s grand prix.
(Reporting by Abhishek Takle, editing by Clare Fallon)
