Austria offers Verstappen comfort of 'home' after Silverstone

The Formula One circus sets up camp in the picture-postcard Styrian Alps this weekend for the Austrian Grand Prix which presents Max Verstappen with the perfect antidote to last week's Silverstone suffering.

The world champion has a fearsome record at the circuit owned by his RedBull team, winning not once but twice last year claiming the Austrian and Styrian Grand Prix in successive weekends.

That took his tally to four wins out of seven at one of the shortest venues and he again has the chance of double celebrations with the Red Bull Ring chosen to stage one of this season's three sprint races.

Saturday's 100km dash offers eight points to the winner with Verstappen more than capable of walking off on Sunday night with all the 34 points on offer.

He managed that feat in the first sprint of the year at Imola, adding the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and the one point for the fastest lap 24 hours later.

A repeat would represent just the tonic after a trying time at the epic British Grand Prix when debris from an Alpha Tauri put paid to his pursuit of a seventh win out of 10 races run.

His and his team's standout start to life with this radically new generation of cars sees him lead the drivers standings by 34 points from his Monaco-winning teammate Sergio Perez.

Next, a further nine points adrift, is Charles Leclerc whose pleasured at teammate Carlos Sainz's maiden F1 win last weekend was diluted by frustration with Ferrari's tactics.

Perez chased Sainz home with Lewis Hamilton revelling in his rebooted Mercedes which was at last matching the top two teams' speed to lift him tantalisingly close to ending his now record 11-race winless sequence.

The massive Silverstone crowd subjected Verstappen to plenty of booing, with Red Bull team