The second sprint round of the 2023 season was a tumultuous one where, for the fourth round in a row, rain had an impact on one of the days of competition.
But drivers not only had to contend with rain during the sprint race. They also struggled to negotiate the track while staying within the white lines. An unprecedented number of drivers earned penalties for running outside of track limits during the race – after already seeing many times deleted from qualifying for the same offence.
That resulted in the lowest average grades from a weekend seen all season. Here are the RaceFans driver ratings for the Austrian Grand Prix…
Max Verstappen – 8/10
Sprint qualified: Pole (+1 place ahead of team mate)
Sprint finished: Winner (+1 place ahead of team mate)
Qualified: Pole (+14 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Three-stop (M-H-M-S)
Finished: Winner (+2 places ahead of team mate)
- Quickest in practice, then took pole by half a tenth in Friday qualifying
- Beat team mate to sprint race pole, then held him off in over the open lap to take a comfortable sprint win
- Defended against Leclerc over opening lap of the grand prix, then lost the lead after first pit stop
- Caught and passed both Ferraris to retake the lead, then pulled out 23 second gap to Leclerc
- Pitted with two laps remaining for soft tyres to take fastest lap on final lap and win fifth consecutive race
- Received a single track limits strike late in the race
Maximum points for Max Verstappen in a weekend where he was pressed in qualifying by Ferrari and was near-flawless in the damp conditions during Saturday. Yet again left his team mate looking second-rate by comparison. Although he literally could not have scored any more points, it’s still difficult to score him higher when the race pace advantage of the Red Bull remains obviously significant.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Sergio Perez – 4/10
Sprint qualified: 2nd (-1 place behind team mate)
Sprint finished: 2nd (-1 place behind team mate)
Qualified: 15th (-14 places behind team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-M-H)
Finished: 3rd (-2 places behind team mate)
- Arrived into the weekend with an illness, excused from Thursday media duties
- Eliminated from Q2 in 15th after having all three of his push laps deleted for exceeding track limits
- Qualified second on the sprint race grid behind team mate
- Took the lead at start of sprint race but fell behind Hulkenberg for nine laps, finishing well behind team mate
- Rose up to third before pitting, then caught and passed Alonso, Norris and Leclerc to finish third on the podium
- Earned a black-and-white flag for three track limits strikes
Spare a thought for poor Sergio Perez who claimed he was battling a fever throughout the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. While the impact on his performance is impossible to quantify, it’s difficult to blame an illness for having all Q2 times deleted for track limits for failing to stay in the lines. Getting stuck for so long behind Hulkenberg in the sprint in a Red Bull was also underwhelming to say the least, but at least he managed to battle back onto the podium to save some face on Sunday.
Charles Leclerc – 7/10
Sprint qualified: 6th (-1 place behind team mate)
Sprint finished: 12th (-9 place behind team mate)
Qualified: 2nd (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.142s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-M-H)
Finished: 2nd (+4 places ahead of team mate)
- Only just missed out on pole in Friday qualifying, taking send just half-a-tenth behind Verstappen
- Took sixth on the sprint race grid but dropped three places for impeding Piastri
- Ran ninth in sprint race before dropping to 12th after switching to slicks
- Fought hard to pass Verstappen at grand prix start but was repelled, taking the lead briefly after pitting under VSC
- Had no defence for Verstappen when caught by the Red Bull and dropped back, finishing second
- Received two track limits strikes over the course of the race
A mixed weekend for Leclerc who came very close to another excellent pole in Friday qualifying but lost out in the final corner. His sprint race was compromised by a penalty in which his team was, again, more to blame than him and he struggled in the mixed conditions far more than his team mate. When it mattered most in the race, he pushed as hard as he could but had no answer for Verstappen but second place was a worthy result.
Carlos Sainz Jnr – 5/10
Sprint qualified: 5th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
Sprint finished: 3rd (+9 place ahead of team mate)
Qualified: 3rd (-1 place behind team mate, +0.142s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-M-H)
Finished: 6th (-4 places behind team mate)
- Secured second row start just behind team mate in Friday qualifying
- Beat team mate by one place in sprint qualifying, then pass Hulkenberg to take third in the sprint race
- Ran close to Leclerc in opening stint of grand prix but lost places after double stacking in the pits under VSC
- Earned five second penalty for track limits but retained third, then caught and overtaken by Perez after three lap battle
- Finished fourth on the road but demoted to sixth after post-race penalties
- Received a total of 15 seconds of time penalties for six track limits infringements
A weekend where Sainz appeared to be genuinely strong across Friday and Saturday but he would ultimately squander his car’s potential on Sunday. He did well to match Leclerc in qualifying and did a better job on sprint race Saturday, but he did himself no favours by failing to stay within the white lines which cost him potentially his first podium of the season. When all three drivers who finished ahead of him avoided penalties, he only has himself to blame.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
George Russell – 6/10
Sprint qualified: 15th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
Sprint finished: 8th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
Qualified: 11th (-6 places behind team mate, +0.24s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 7th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
- Eliminated from Q2 in 11th, losing best time for track limits but which had no impact on position
- Knocked out of SQ2 in 15th after a hydraulic fault, but rose to take final sprint race point in eighth after pitting for slicks
- Passed by Perez in early laps then pitted under VSC and made progress up the order
- Undercut Gasly by pitting a lap before, then ran behind team mate for the rest of the race
- Finished eighth but was promoted ahead of team mate after his post-race penalty
- Ran a clean race without a single track limits strike
Russell had a decent weekend while the Mercedes was not at its best relative to more recent circuits like Montreal or Barcelona. His lowest moment was being knocked out of Q2, but there was nothing he could do about hydraulic failure leaving him 15th on the sprint race grid. In both races, he gained plenty of places and looked stronger than team mate Hamilton in both. He was also one of only two drivers who did not exceed track limits once – showing it can be done…
Lewis Hamilton – 4/10
Sprint qualified: 18th (-3 places behind team mate)
Sprint finished: 10th (-2 places behind team mate)
Qualified: 5th (+6 places ahead of team mate, -0.24s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 8th (-1 place behind team mate)
- Took fifth on the grid in Friday, out-qualified by Norris’s McLaren
- Failed to progress out of SQ1 in the changing conditions and gained eight places in sprint race to finish tenth
- Under pressure from Norris early in the grand prix, then earned five second penalty for track limits
- Overtaken by Norris and Perez, falling to seventh where he finished ahead of team mate in seventh
- Dropped behind Russell in final classification after post-race penalty
- Had six track limits strikes, leading to a total of 15 seconds of time penalties
A difficult weekend for Hamilton where Friday was his best day by far. It’s tough to find excuses for a Mercedes driver to be eliminated from SQ1 even in changing conditions but he made reasonable progress in the sprint race. On Sunday, he was clearly struggling and did not seem able to find the performance he had in Montreal. He burned up all his track limits strikes in the early laps and then earned a further penalty after the race, capping off a weekend of underperformance.
Esteban Ocon – 3/10
Sprint qualified: 9th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
Sprint finished: 7th (+8 places ahead of team mate)
Qualified: 12th (-3 places behind team mate, +0.145s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 14th (-4 places behind team mate)
- Should have reached Q3 on Friday but had best time deleted for track limits
- Qualified ninth in SQ but gained one place from Leclerc’s penalty, finishing seventh in sprint race by 0.009s
- Ran just outside the top ten for majority of the race, hit by five second penalty for unsafe pit release
- Finished 12th on the road after running there for entire last stint
- Hit with four separate time penalties post-race, dropping him to 14th in final classification
- Total of ten track limits strikes, earning a total of 30 seconds of time penalties
Ocon set a new Formula 1 record for the highest volume of penalties ever earned by a single driver in one grand prix: five. While one of them was not his fault, ten track limits strikes – 14.3% of all race laps he completed – is impossible to excuse. He had also lost a spot in Q3 due to track limits on Friday, which only further condemns him. With that said, he did earn two points in the sprint race after a decent showing on Saturday, but all those penalties has to earn him a harsher grading.
Pierre Gasly – 4/10
Sprint qualified: 12th (-3 places behind team mate)
Sprint finished: 15th (-8 places behind team mate)
Qualified: 9th (+3 places ahead of team mate, -0.145s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 10th (+4 places ahead of team mate)
- Reached Q3 on Friday, unlike team mate, to take ninth on the grid
- Knocked out in 12th in SQ2, then dropped three places on opening lap of sprint race to finish a lowly 15th
- Ran around the edge of the top ten all grand prix, but served a five-second track limits penalty at final stop
- Took the chequered flag in ninth place but fell to tenth after ten-second post-race penalty
- Amassed a total of seven track limits strikes for 15-seconds of penalties
Another weekend where Gasly showed both promising performances and had an equal amount of frustrations too. He did a better job than his team mate on Friday, but a worse one on Saturday. He was fortunate that 15 seconds of track limits penalties didn’t cost him his points finish, but it’s also hard not to feel like his Alpine finished where it should given the cars that were ahead of him. But he has to lose marks for multiple penalties.
Lando Norris – 7/10
Sprint qualified: 3th (+14 places ahead of team mate)
Sprint finished: 9th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
Qualified: 4th (+9 places ahead of team mate, -0.567s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 4th (+12 places ahead of team mate)
- Granted raft of upgrades by his team for the weekend which team mate went without
- Secured fourth on the grid in Friday qualifying but lamented final corner error which he claimed cost him third
- Went one better in sprint qualifying to take third but lost seven places falling into anti-stall on lap one, finishing ninth
- Lost a place to Hamilton at the grand prix start, then ran behind him in the early laps
- Overtook Hamilton after first stop to run fourth, which he later lost when passed by Perez, finishing fifth
- Promoted to fourth after Sainz’s post-race time penalty
- Received a black-and-white flag for three track limits violations through the race
Norris had additional pressure on his shoulders this weekend as he was tasked with carrying a major set of upgrades for McLaren over the weekend. Although he did very well in both qualifying sessions, his sprint race did not go according to plan and he just missed out on points. But in the grand prix, he gave McLaren plenty of reason for cheer. His pass on Hamilton would have brought delight to the entire team and he gained a place by avoiding a track limits penalty. Just.
Oscar Piastri – 5/10
Sprint qualified: 17th (-14 places behind team mate)
Sprint finished: 11th (-2 places behind team mate)
Qualified: 13th (-9 places behind team mate, +0.567s)
Start: -3 places
Strategy: Three-stop (M-H-H-M)
Finished: 16th (-12 places behind team mate)
- Ran without any of the upgrades afforded his team mate
- Failed to follow team mate through to Q3 after losing best lap time for track limits, knocked out in 13th
- Eliminated from first round of sprint qualifying in 17th but gained six places in the sprint race to finish 11th
- Dropped to 15th on the opening lap of the grand prix then picked up front wing damage when clipping Magnussen
- Fell to last after being overtaken by Bottas but passed Magnussen in closing laps to finish 18th
- Earned a black-and-white flag for three track limits strikes, but no penalties
A difficult weekend to assess for Piastri who was not driving the same spec car as his team mate. However, ignoring the benchmark of his team mate, he still perhaps underperformed relative to the potential of his car. He was at his best during the sprint race, making good use of his slicks, to gain places, but his Sunday was compromised by a clumsy clash with Magnussen which damaged his front wing and dropped him out of contention for the rest of the race.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Valtteri Bottas – 5/10
Sprint qualified: 19th (-3 places behind team mate)
Sprint finished: 20th (-1 place behind team mate)
Qualified: 14th (+3 places ahead of team mate, -0.055s)
Start: -4 places
Strategy: Two-stop (H-M-H)
Finished: 15th (-3 places behind team mate)
- Just reached Q2 on Friday in 15th despite causing red flag with early spin, then knocked out in 14th in Q2
- Eliminated 19th in SQ1 in damp conditions, three places behind team mate
- Abandoned attempt to start sprint race on slicks and finished last, six seconds behind team mate
- Dropped four places on the opening lap, running over Tsunoda’s endplate at turn one
- Stayed out under VSC then pitted good after green, falling to the back
- Passed Piastri and then caught and passed Magnussen in final laps to finish 16th, gaining 15th with De Vries’ penalty
- Two strikes for exceeding track limits during the race
An anonymous weekend for Bottas – except for when he was the only driver brave enough to attempt to start on slick tyres on a wet track in the sprint race. That gamble did not pay off and his grand prix was compromised by damage sustained in the first corner that he was an innocent victim of. He had been quicker than his team mate on Friday but not on Saturday and it’s hard to be too critical of his finishing position given the damage sustained.
Zhou Guanyu – 5/10
Sprint qualified: 16th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
Sprint finished: 19th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
Qualified: 17th (-3 places behind team mate, +0.055s)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 12th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
- Disappointed to be eliminated from Q1 in 17th on Friday after losing tyre temperature before final flying lap
- Only just missed out on SQ2 by 0.001s to be knocked out in 16th
- Dropped to 19th in the sprint race, finishing one place ahead of team mate
- Ran 14th in early laps but had to pit to remove tear-off from brake duct, dropping to the very back
- Passed Magnussen, then ran behind Sargeant for rest of the race, finishing 14th
- Moved up to 12th in final standings following post-race penalties to Ocon and Sargeant
- Ran a clean race with not a single track limits strike against him
A challenging weekend for Zhou who managed to acquit himself well enough, all things considered. He knew he could have done better in qualifying on Friday and he struggled in the sprint race as Alfa Romeo were simply not competitive. It’s difficult to praise him simply for not breaking track limits once during the race, but when he was one of only two drivers to achieve that, it is certainly notable.
Lance Stroll – 5/10
Sprint qualified: 7th (-1 place behind team mate)
Sprint finished: 4th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
Qualified: 6th (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.018s)
Start: -3 places
Strategy: Three-stop (M-H-H-M)
Finished: 9th (-4 places behind team mate)
- Beat team mate to sixth place on the grand prix grid in Friday qualifying
- Qualified just behind team mate in seventh in sprint race qualifying but promoted to sixth after Leclerc’s penalty
- Passed team mate in sprint race and held him off in closing laps to finish fourth
- Dropped to eighth at grand prix start, then lost several more pitting under second lap of VSC
- Moved back through the field, then caught and passed Albon after a late final stop to finish tenth
- Gained ninth place in the final classification after Gasly’s post-race penalty
- Received black-and-white warning flag for three track limits infringements
Stroll’s Austrian Grand Prix weekend saw him achieve better results than his team mate across Friday and Saturday, before fading when it mattered most on Sunday. He out-qualified Alonso on Friday and managed to hold off his team mate in the final laps of the sprint race. But in the grand prix, he lost ground when pitting under the Virtual Safety Car and would finish behind the two Mercedes and Gasly. As such, he can’t score quite as high as his team mate.
Fernando Alonso – 6/10
Sprint qualified: 6th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
Sprint finished: 5th (-1 place behind team mate)
Qualified: 7th (-1 place behind team mate, +0.018s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (H-M-M)
Finished: 5th (+4 places ahead of team mate)
- Took seventh place in Friday qualifying just behind team mate after a single run on new tyres
- Beat team mate by one place in sprint race qualifying to take seventh, which became sixth after Leclerc’s penalty
- Finished behind team mate in sprint race after late battle over fourth place
- Started on hards and ran fifth behind Hamilton in early laps of the grand prix, then overtaken by Perez
- Spent the latter part of the race alone in sixth where he would finish, gaining fifth after Sainz’s post-race penalty
- Received a single track limits strike during the race
A decent if unspectacular performance from Alonso in Austria. It was as if he and team mate Stroll were locked together over the first two days but on Sunday he was the only Aston Martin driver in the mix. The VSC eroded his chance of making the most of his hard tyres on his first stint and he did not have the pace to challenge his rivals ahead later in the race, but beating a Mercedes driver who had started ahead of him was a decent enough result.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Kevin Magnussen – 4/10
Sprint qualified: 10th (-6 places behind team mate)
Sprint finished: 14th (-8 places behind team mate)
Qualified: 19th (-11 places behind team mate, +0.231s)
Start: +11 places (due to pitting under SC)
Strategy: Three-stop (H-M-H-H)
Finished: 18th
- Eliminated 19th in Friday qualifying, blaming traffic and a downshift problem on his final run
- Reached SQ3 in sprint race qualifying to line up tenth on the grid
- Fell down the order in the sprint race, finishing 14th after switching to slicks
- Started grand prix from pit lane after changing parts under parc ferme and then immediately ran off track at turn three
- Gained many places staying out under VSC then fell down the order, eventually being pushed off track by De Vries
- Ran in 16th but faded late in the race, being passed by Bottas, Tsunoda and Piastri to finish last on the road
- Gained 18th after Tsunoda’s post-race penalty
- Received a five-second post-race time penalty after exceeding track limits four times
Magnussen endured a tumultuous weekend at the Red Bull Ring, with his team mate outshining him across the three days – and not for the first time this season. While his disappointing qualifying is what led to him starting from the pit lane, he endured a tough race. He suggested he suffered floor damage from his trip through the gravel after being shoved wide by De Vries – and it’s hard not to give him some benefit of the doubt for that – but overall his weekend was sub-par.
Nico Hulkenberg – 7/10
Sprint qualified: 4th (+6 places ahead of team mate)
Sprint finished: 6th (+8 places ahead of team mate)
Qualified: 8th (+11 places ahead of team mate, -0.231s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-M)
Finished: Retired (Power unit – L13)
- Secured passage to Q3 on Friday to take eighth on the grand prix grid
- Stormed to second row start in sprint race qualifying, despite alarming incident in the pit lane when he struck a wheel
- Moved passed Perez at the start to run second for first nine laps of the sprint race, then eventually fell to sixth
- Gained one place from Stroll on the opening lap, then lost it back to him on lap eight
- Forced to pull off track with a smoking car a lap after pitting, becoming race’s only retirement
- Received a black-and-white warning flag for three track limits violations in opening 12 laps
Over a weekend when so many drivers didn’t exactly impress, Hulkenberg was one of the few who did. His strong qualifying performance on Friday was improved on Saturday morning with a terrific fourth place and he ran in second for half of the sprint race before falling to sixth. He drove as well as he could in the early laps to stay in the top eight until his car let him down soon after his first stop. A performance that only validates Haas’s decision to race him this season.
Yuki Tsunoda – 3/10
Sprint qualified: 13th (+1 place behind team mate)
Sprint finished: 16th (+1 place behind team mate)
Qualified: 16th (+4 places ahead of team mate, -0.19s)
Start: -4 places
Strategy: Three-stop (M-H-H-M)
Finished: 19th (-2 places behind team mate)
- Frustrated to be the first driver eliminated in Q1 after catching traffic on final run
- Reached SQ2 in 13th, then was eliminated there in 13th after quickest lap deleted for track limits
- Finished 16th in sprint race after switch to slick tyres did not pay off
- Hit Ocon at turn one of grand prix, losing front wing endplate, then ran off track at turn four
- Ran towards the rear of the field, earning a five second time penalty for exceeding track limits four times
- Overtook Magnussen after four-way battle near the end of the race to finish 17th, demoted to last after penalty
- Exceeded track limits nine times to earn a total of 20 seconds of penalties
For a driver racing in his third season, Tsunoda looked every bit the rookie his team mate is in Austria. Exceeding track limits cost him in sprint race qualifying, but his dive into turn one was far too greedy and he paid the price. His nine track limits infringements over the course of the race was only matched by Albon and Ocon and while his AlphaTauri is one of the slower cars, he gave himself no chances of a decent result with his driving over the weekend.
Nyck de Vries – 4/10
Sprint qualified: 14th (-1 place behind team mate)
Sprint finished: 17th (-1 place behind team mate)
Qualified: 20th (-4 places behind team mate, +0.19s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 17th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
- Knocked out slowest in Q1 after losing two tenths with mistake at turn one on final flying lap
- Easily progressed to SQ2 but was knocked out 14th, just behind team mate
- Had a poor start in the sprint race and was stuck behind Sargeant, finishing 17th
- Forced to start grand prix from the pit lane due to changing set up under parc ferme
- Pitted two laps before VSC, which cost him time relative to rivals ahead, then ran in 15th after second stop
- Earned a penalty forcing Magnussen off the track at turn six on his way to finishing 15th on the road
- Demoted to 17th after the race due to penalties
- Amassed six track limits infringements for a total of 15 seconds of penalties
A mistake in Friday qualifying was not the best way for De Vries to start his Austrian Grand Prix weekend and 20 seconds of penalties in the grand prix on Sunday was hardly a better way to end it. He clashed with Magnussen for the second race in succession and deserved a penalty, but he was a little unlucky with the timing of the VSC early in the race. Still, he was not exactly slow when it came to race pace, but needed to put himself in a much better position to make more of it.
Alexander Albon – 5/10
Sprint qualified: 11th (+9 places ahead of team mate)
Sprint finished: 13th (+5 places ahead of team mate)
Qualified: 10th (+8 places ahead of team mate, -0.275s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 11th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
- Squeezed into Q3 on Friday, lost fastest Q3 time for track limits but would have still qualified tenth if it counted
- Just missed out on SQ3 in 11th and gained four places on opening sprint lap, but faded to finish 13th
- Ran in tenth for most of the first half of the grand prix, then picked up a five second penalty for four track limits strikes
- Overtaken by Stroll in later laps to finish just outside points in 11th, keeping place despite extra ten second penalty
- Received 15 seconds of track limits penalties
It may seem odd to consider someone who received 15 seconds of penalties in a grand prix of having a ‘good’ race, but Albon managed to back up Williams’ encouraging pace from Canada by running solidly in the midfield all weekend. He ruined his final qualifying lap on Friday by running off track, but while it cost him nothing, it still counts against him. His pace in the grand prix was better than in the sprint and while penalties did not deny him points, they must factor into his grade.
Logan Sargeant – 4/10
Sprint qualified: 20th (-9 places behind team mate)
Sprint finished: 18th (-5 places behind team mate)
Qualified: 18th (-8 places behind team mate, +0.275s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 13th (-2 places behind team mate)
- Eliminated 18th from Q1 but was “pretty happy” with his final lap
- Slowest in sprint qualifying but gained two places to finish 18th in sprint
- Ran behind Piastri in early laps, then passed Magnussen for 13th
- Sat in 13th over the later stages of the race, keeping out of reach of Zhou behind to finish there
- Earned a five second time penalty late in the race, but remained ahead of Zhou in provisional results
- Dropped behind Zhou after post-race ten second penalty, but remained in 13th place
- Six track limits infringements resulting in a total of 15 seconds of penalties
In some ways this was one of the more encouraging weekends of the season for Sargeant, while in others it was a disappointing one where he could not get the most of his car in his first weekend with the upgraded Williams. Behind team mate Albon through all three days of competition, his performance in the grand prix was his best of the weekend, showing decent pace to run out of the bottom of the order. Like many others, though, he earned too many penalties.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Over to you
Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:
