Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez played down their opening lap battle in the F1 Sprint at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The pair ran wheel-to-wheel on the opening lap of Saturday’s encounter, with Verstappen pushed onto the grass on the run out of Turn 1.
The Dutchman went on to see the chequered flag first, comfortably ahead of his team-mate, after 24 laps in drying conditions.
Perez had managed to draw alongside Verstappen on the run to Turn 1, taking the inside line and the lead, only to run wide and compromise his exit.
That allowed Verstappen an opportunity to cut underneath, only to find himself crowded off the road.
The pair remained side-by-side into Turn 3, their scrap almost enabling Lando Norris and Nico Hulkenberg to pass them.
However, they clung on to their positions at the front, Verstappen solidifying his place at Turn 4 to never be headed.
With Perez under pressure to deliver after a string of disappointing results, it suggested an added edge to the battle.
However, Verstappen moved to hose that down, suggesting the difficult conditions meant it looked worse than it was.
“We don’t need to make this a big story,” Verstappen said.
“It’s what happens sometimes. We talk about it, we clear it, and that’s fine. That’s how human beings work; sometimes you question, you answer, solve it, done.”
Verstappen had complained over the radio that he’d been pushed off the track at Turn 2 – a fast, gentle left-hand kink – while Perez was aggrieved by the exchange at Turn 3.
“We spoke about it, you know, first lap,” Perez said.
“It’s always tricky in these conditions, so there is no issues.”
Verstappen also added that the wet circuit necessitated the use of different lines.
“You cannot drive on the normal line anyway because there’s less grip there,” he explained.
“That’s why also, Turn 3, 4, especially the outside in the beginning, had more grip, so that’s where you want to be with the car anyway.
“Then of course when it dries up, you start to move more and more to the inside.”
With eight points paid out for the Sprint winner, Verstappen has extended his advantage over Perez to 70.
He is odds on to extend that further in the grand prix proper after taking pole during Friday’s Qualifying session.
Perez, meanwhile, will line up 15th after he had three lap times deleted in Qualifying 2.
The Austrian Grand Prix begins at 15:00 local time on Sunday (23:00 AEST)
Discussion about this post