Austrian GP race RED-FLAGGED after horror crash as car left upside down on circuit

The Formula 2 Austrian Grand Prix sprint race has had to be red-flagged after a scary accident involving three drivers.

Heading into turn two at the Spielberg circuit, French driver Sami Meguetounif attempted to go up the inside of Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad but found himself running out of road.

The two drivers made contact at the hairpin, with Williams reserve driver Luke Browning also caught up in the incident.

After the initial contact, Meguetounif's car flipped over and landed squarely on top of Browning's vehicle, with the Halo thankfully preventing the crash from being serious.

All three drivers were fortunately able to walk away unscathed, with the slow speed of the hairpin also helping to minimise the crash's effects.

The red flag period lasted nearly half an hour before the race got underway again at the Red Bull Ring.

Saturday's race is the shorter sprint, with a longer feature race taking place on the Sunday morning before the F1 Grand Prix gets underway.

The championship leader heading into the weekend is Republic of Ireland's Alex Dunne, who has won two feature races but has also courted controversy due to his involvement in several on-track incidents during the season.

The 19-year-old was given the opportunity to drive for McLaren in F1's first practice session on Friday in place of Lando Norris, setting a time that was fourth-fastest and just 0.069 seconds behind the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri.

Lindblad, meanwhile, will make his FP1 debut for Red Bull at the British Grand Prix, despite being only 17 years of age.

Under FIA rules, drivers are only permitted to receive a Super Licence - which allows them to compete in F1 - from the age of 18, but Red Bull successfully applied for an exemption.

The Brit has already collected enough Super Licence points through junior formulae, with the only factor stopping him from being given one having been his age.

However, the FIA revised their International Sporting Code last season, which now reads: "At the sole discretion of the FIA, a driver judged to have recently and consistently demonstrated outstanding ability and maturity in single-seater formula car competition may be granted a Super Licence at the age of 17 years old."