Max Verstappen emerges as emperor of Austria in the ninth round of the Formula 1 World Championship. The duopoly between the world champion and Red Bull is still implacable and on the track owned by the Milton Keynes team, the Dutchman completes the work: after pole position and domination of the Sprint Race, the championship leader takes the fifth consecutive triumph and the seventh of the season, joking with his rivals by going to take the fastest lap at the checkered flag. But the happy note on the Spielberg track comes from Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc first of the humans and leader of the race for nine laps, taking advantage of a pit stop under the Virtual Safety Car.
The Prancing Horse is finally back on the podium, the second of the season and the number 800 in the history of Formula 1: a feat almost also achieved by Sainz, however the Spaniard falls into the track limits trap and runs into a five-second penalty which, in hindsight, then it turns out to be fatal. However, the superlative performance of Carlos remains, who plays it equal in the final with the Red Bull of Checo Perez, but after a great battle the Mexican gets the upper hand and completes the comeback from 15th to 3rd place. Points earned for the team from Maranello on the Aston Martins and the Mercedes, more delayed with a much lower wheelbase than the red.
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A DAY AGO
Arrival order
1. VERSTAPPEN (RED BULL)12. LECLERC (FERRARI)+5.1553. PEREZ (RED BULL)+17.1884. SAINZ (FERRARI)+21.3775. NORRIS (MCLAREN)+26.3276. ALONSO (ASTON MARTIN)+30.3177. HAMILTON (MERCEDES)+39.1968. RUSSELL (MERCEDES)+48.4039. GASLY (ALPINE)+57.66710. STROLL (ASTON MARTIN)+59.043
Key moments
Departure – Leclerc tries on the outside in turn 3 and then braking downhill in turn 4, but Verstappen defends himself very well and keeps the lead in the race. 3rd Sainz, Norris overtaken by Hamilton at the start. Safety car due to the debris left by the contacts in the belly of the group in turn 1, while Tsunoda ends up in the gravel and restarts from the back.
Formula 1, Austrian GP: pictures from the start
Credit Foto Getty Images
Lap 14/71 – Hulkenberg’s Haas goes up in smoke and the driver is forced to retire: the Virtual Safety Car arrives, but it is too late for Verstappen and the Ferraris to return to the pits. Hamilton and Norris instead stop to change tyres. On the following lap, a double pit stop for the Prancing Horse: Leclerc maintains his position, Sainz instead starts again from 6th.
Lap 20/71 – Show by Carlos Sainz: recovers all three positions lost due to the delay in the pit stop, overtaking Norris, Hamilton and Perez in four laps. The Spanish Ferrari driver thus reclaimed third position.
Lap 24/71 – Verstappen enters the pits and Leclerc becomes the new race leader. The World Championship leader rejoins the track behind Sainz, who, however, overtakes a couple of laps later.
Lap 29/71 – Penalties for track limits are pouring in, Sainz also pays the price. The Spaniard from Ferrari will serve the 5 seconds with a stop&go at the next stop. Same fate for Hamilton.
Lap 33/71 – Leclerc’s moment of glory lasted nine laps: Verstappen caught up with him and with an overtaking on the inside he regained the leadership of the race.
Lap 58/71 – A spectacular duel begins between Sainz and Perez for the lowest step of the podium. The Ferrari driver had kept Norris at bay, but after four close combat laps he was powerless against the Mexican’s Red Bull.
Last lap – Verstappen completes the hat trick by setting the fastest lap at the checkered flag, after returning to the pits two laps earlier to mount the softs without affecting the leadership, considering the incredible advantage. Ferrari returns to the podium with Leclerc’s 2nd place, Perez 3rd ahead of Sainz by 4″1: the Spaniard’s penalty for track limits is fatal.
Full report coming soon…
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