HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the FP1 action in Austria as Verstappen leads the Ferraris to top the timesheets

Max Verstappen was in a familiar position as he topped the timesheets in the first and only practice session of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. The Red Bull man was fastest – on the medium tyre – with Carlos Sainz just two-tenths behind in second and Charles Leclerc in third.

It was a busy hour of running at the Red Bull Ring, with all the teams making the most of the single practice session, with the Sprint weekend meaning qualifying for Sunday’s race comes later today at 1700 local time in Spielberg.

FP1: Verstappen leads Sainz and Leclerc as Sprint weekend begins in Austria

Ferrari and McLaren were some of the upgraded machines to take note of as a number of drivers pushed to the limit to make the most of the practice time, with several going beyond the track limits and off the circuit all together.

But it was Red Bull’s current championship leader Verstappen who showed what he could do at the team’s home race. With most of the field swapping to softs in the latter stages of the session, the Red Bulls opted against using the red-marked rubber.

Despite the tyre performance deficit on the mediums, Verstappen still took top spot and will hope that translates through the rest of the weekend.

Click on the video player above to catch the action from FP1 in Austria.