Perez took the lead at Turn One but came under pressure from Verstappen on the run towards Turn Three, moving over on his team-mate, who took to the grass and was forced to get out of the throttle.

Verstappen dived down the inside of Perez at Turn Three to retake the lead, and neither driver was happy with the other on the radio.

• Max Verstappen wins Sprint in wet after thrilling first-lap battle with Sergio Perez
• When to watch the Austrian GP on Sky Sports
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The championship leader said Perez "pushed him off" onto the grass while the Mexican questioned, "what is wrong with Max?".

Rain was falling on the circuit at the start of the Sprint and Perez said the spray meant he didn't see Verstappen in his mirrors.

"The visibility was a factor in it. Although it was raining a little bit, with these big tyres it is really difficult to see anything," explained Perez to Sky Sports F1.

"I got a good start but I had a bad Turn One so I tried to protect my line but didn't see Max was alongside me. He went onto the grass but then I think we both went a bit too much over the limit.

"We've spoken about it and it's all fine, we will learn to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Verstappen: All good with Perez | 'I trust his word'

Verstappen insisted there was no issue between himself and his Red Bull team-mate after the pair immediately discussed the incident in parc ferme.

"My start wasn't good, I had a lot of wheel spin somehow," Verstappen told Sky Sports F1. "But then I had a good run out of Turn One and was going to go fully alongside because of the traction I had out of the corner and suddenly I got squeezed onto the grass and almost lost the car.

"And again in the back of my mind with what happened today [Dutch driver Dilano van 't Hoff being killed in a Formula Regional crash at Spa] had I been stationary there or sideways it could have been a big shunt so at the time of course I wasn't very happy.

"Then after the race you talk about it and Checo said he couldn't see me so I trust his word of course about that. It's super easy to create these kind of things. Immediately we walked in to have a little chat about it."

In the press conference Verstappen was keen to play the incident down: "We spoke about it. When the moment happens, you don't know why it gets to that. But after the race we talked about it and it's all good."

Horner: It got 'tasty' between drivers

There have been some tense moments between Verstappen and Perez over the last 12 months, but the pair have largely enjoyed a harmonious relationship.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner also played down the incident as both drivers quickly spoke about the near-collision just moments after jumping out of their cars.

"They've spoken about it. I think Checo had Max maybe unsighted there on the right-hand side. Thankfully they didn't collect each other and a 1-2 finish is a great result for the team," said Horner.

"The rules are very fair, race hard but give each other space. At Turn One and Three it was OK, the bit in the middle was where it got a bit tasty - but maybe Checo didn't see Max."

Can Ferrari challenge Red Bull on Sunday?

Verstappen will start on pole position for the Austrian GP - which begins at 2pm live on Sky Sports F1 - while Perez begins the race from 15th after having all of his lap times deleted in Q2 on Friday.

The Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will be second and third on the grid, so could put Verstappen under pressure on the first lap.

"I'm excited but also a bit keeping an eye on what's going to happen," Sainz told Sky Sports F1 after finishing third in the Sprint.

"We're obviously happy we have qualified P2 and P3 and we've been strong all weekend but it's only been on new tyres, it hasn't been on a long run.

"We know where our weakness comes, it's the long run, the degradation, the race pace so I'm still a bit waiting to see how the car feels tomorrow. If we manage those things well a podium is possible with both cars."

Ferrari's race pace was very strong last time out in Montreal, but they started out of position, so their performance went under the radar.

They brought a new floor and front wing to Spielberg and, if Canada is anything to go by, could stick with Verstappen for the whole race.

"Race pace looked quite good in Montreal. But again, consistency is where we need to focus so we really have to see on Sunday if we've got the same pace as in Montreal," said Leclerc.

"Red Bull for now is quicker on race day, so it's going to be difficult, but if we can put them in difficulty we'll do it all."

Sainz added: "I think in the starts you always attack, no? I attacked Max in Barcelona. You always go on the attack mode because in F1 you either attack or you get attacked.

"So, you better be the one attacking, which I think is what we all do in lap one and it's in our nature as drivers and it's true that it depends on who is in front of you.

"Like if it's your team-mate or if it's a car that is anyway going to be much quicker in the race then you, then you judge and you judge how much risk you are willing to take, which is natural also in in every driver, but the mindset is always to try and move forward at the start."

Watch the Austrian GP live on Sky Sports F1 from 12.30pm on Sunday with lights out at 2pm.