The Red Bull driver had to defend at Turns 1 and 3 against an initially strong threat from Ferrari, but as Leclerc and Carlos Sainz battled each other, the defending champion cruised to a relatively smooth triumph.
The start was delayed and an extra formation lap was required when Zhou Guanyu momentarily lost drive at the final corner on his way to the grid when his Alfa Romeo’s engine briefly died.
He was able to find drive and get going, but not before a lap had been removed from the 24.
It came after Fernando Alonso, who was due to be eighth, required a pit lane start when his Alpine would not fire on the grid due to a technical problem the team has not yet identified.
Regulations allowing the car to be untouchable after three minutes meant Alonso was left on the trolley and with the tire blankets.
Despite the possibility of starting from the pit lane, the two-time champion would not participate in the sprint race at all.
After the break, it was Leclerc who enjoyed the slightly better start to force Verstappen to pull to the inside line and push the Ferrari closer to the pit wall.
Red Bull’s defensive work duly paid off when Verstappen stormed into the right-hander at Turn 1, but a compromised line allowed third-start Sainz to threaten.
With Leclerc battling Verstappen, Sainz was given room to dive forward into the first corner and a strong exit allowed the Spaniard to move his Ferrari to the outside and attempt a pass.
He put his nose in front of Verstappen in the pit stop at Turn 3, but on the outside and off the racing line, he ran wide and then the ensuing overturn on the less grippy tarmac allowed Leclerc to accelerate faster and reclaim second place with enter turn 4.
The Ferrari tussle allowed Verstappen to break away by half a second initially, an advantage which the reigning champion then doubled at the end of the opening lap.
The Ferraris continued to roll the dice, with Sainz appearing to carry the early pace advantage to try and overtake Leclerc on the outside of Turn 3 in 4, with the red car appearing to rub.
After the Ferrari pair were allowed to battle, it brought Sainz, who had blocked, to a virtual halt as he was pinned against the gravel trap, which in turn gave Verstappen a two-second breathing space.
Verstappen was able to stretch the legs of his Red Bull to extend the gap to three seconds, but in the final few laps Leclerc was able to lap a tenth or two faster to gradually close the gap.
Verstappen complained of his struggles on the medium tires but the change in pace wasn’t enough to offer a threat as the Dutchman eventually crossed the line 1.6s clear to extend his championship lead to 44 points – Leclerc took the bonus point for fastest lap.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75, George Russell, Mercedes W13, the rest of the field at the start of the Sprint race
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Sainz completed the podium a further 3.9 seconds behind his team-mate, while George Russell converted fourth on the grid on a lonely afternoon, his Mercedes W13 having undergone extensive repairs after being shunted at the final corner late in Q3.
Sergio Perez in sister Red Bull, who started 13th after his Q3 time was wiped out for a track restrictions violation at the end of Q2 that initially went unnoticed, dropped back to fifth.
His impressive climb was aided by a first-turn collision that saw Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri lifted into the air and spun.
The Frenchman, who started 10th, had moved gradually to the left as he lined up the first right-hander, but in doing so left Lewis Hamilton sandwiched with Alex Alban’s Williams.
The lack of room left Hamilton’s front right to make contact with Gasly’s left rear, causing his car to go airborne and spin down to an eventual 15th.
Perez also made quick moves on both Haas cars before edging out Esteban Ocon, the only Alpinist left, who secured sixth ahead of Kevin Magnussen.
Magnussen was a hair’s breadth from his Haas stablemate Mick Schumacher, which left the German asking his team for the Dane to check his pace and offer DRS help.
It happened when Hamilton stuck to the back of Schumacher’s car and stuck his nose next to him at Turn 3 repeatedly, at one stage appearing to touch Haas’ right-rear wheel as he battled for eighth place.
Mercedes were still unable to pass using DRS due to the straight line characteristics of the Haas, but Hamilton eventually passed with a good drive from Turn 3.
Schumacher just left enough space on the grass for the W13 to take position at Turn 3.
Valtteri Bottas used the dice to close but was not really in the fight and settled for 10th.
Despite Daniel Ricciardo asking to be omitted, Lando Norris led McLaren 11-12.
Lance Stroll (the best soft tire rider), Jow and Gasly completed the top 15 ahead of Alex Albon, who was demoted to 16th with a 5 second penalty for pushing Lando Norris out of position coming out of Turn 3.
Behind Yuki Tsunoda and Nicolas Latifi, Sebastian Vettel joined Alonso as a retiree.
The Aston Martin was called to the pits on the final lap with damage as Vettel spun in a collision while battling around the outside of Turn 7.
F1 Austrian GP: Full results of the sprint race
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