Austrian Grand Prix LIVE: Verstappen looks to extend his lead after his Sprint victory as he starts on pole, with Hamilton in fifth and Perez down in 15th

Follow Mail Sport’s live blog for the Austrian Grand Prix, as Max Verstappen chases another victory following his Sprint race win.  

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Lap six of the Grand Prix and DRS has been enabled

Sergio Perez overtakes Esteban Ocon to move up to 12th

Early contact on the first lap leads to an immediate safety car. 

Lewis Hamilton overtakes Lando Norris to move up a place to fourth on the opening lap while Yuki Tsunoda suffers damage and is forced into the pits. 

Max Verstappen is 69 points clear of his team mate Sergio Perez at the top of the standings. The Dutch driver has secured six wins already this season as Red Bull look to win their tenth race in a row. 

Perez currently has 126 points to his name, while Fernando Alonso sits in third on 117. Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz round out the top five. 

Verstappen looks unstoppable at the moment. 

A minute’s silence was observed before Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix following the death of Dutch driver Dilano van ‘t Hoff.

The 18-year-old tragically lost his life in an accident on the track during the second race of the Formula Regional European Championship on Saturday.

The incident occurred four years after Anthoine Hubert died in a multiple-car crash in a Formula 2 race on the same section of the track.

Max Verstappen is on pole position for Red Bull at their home race, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz behind him. 

The action gets underway in Austria shortly at 2pm UK time.

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