Jul 3

Jul 3 Max Verstappen wins Austrian Grand Prix as Ferrari asserts position as second-best

Max Verstappen took another dominant victory in Austria to make it five wins in a row in the Formula 1 World Championship as Ferrari asserted their position at the head of the remaining teams.

Max Verstappen leads Charles Leclerc during the Austrian Grand Prix. *(Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool)*

Verstappen led away from pole and stayed out during an early virtual safety car period, briefly handing the strategy advantage to Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc before hunting him down for a dominant lead.

The Red Bull driver pitted on the penultimate lap to fight for the fastest lap point, narrowing his gap over Leclerc to just five seconds, but the Dutchman was unflappable as he continues to run away with the 2023 Formula 1 championship.

Leclerc held on for second place as Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez battled through the pack from the rear of the grid to take a valiant third place, slightly hampered in the final stages by resolute defence from Carlos Sainz.

Through their strategy calls and ability delay the charge of the Red Bulls, Ferrari established themselves as the second-best team on the grid in the extremely competitive fight behind Red Bull.

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc joins Sergio Perez on the podium after the Austrian Grand Prix. *(Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool)*

The position is currently held by Mercedes in the standings after battling with Aston Martin throughout the opening quarter of the season, with Aston just six points behind.

Ferrari is fourth and the third and final team in the second-tier of teams after Red Bull, 20 points down on Mercedes, and confident after the Austrian Grand Prix that they can begin to move up the ladder.

Lando Norris had a fine drive in an upgraded McLaren to finish fifth ahead of Fernando Alonso, who had a quiet race ahead of Lewis Hamilton, the Mercedes driver struggling with tyre degradation and understeer that led to a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits.

George Russell, Pierre Gasly, and Lance Stroll completed the top ten after fierce battles throughout the race for the final points positions which at times included Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon, with Nico Hulkenberg the only retirement after suffering an engine failure.

Oscar Piastri was fighting well on the edge of points-paying positions but was caught up as the field compressed into turn three and lost his front wing, which forced him to take an extra pit stop.

Verstappen holds the lead of the championship on 229 points ahead of teammate Perez on 148 points, with Fernando Alonso the head of the chasing pack on 129 points.

Of primary concern during the race was drivers exceeding track limits, with the FIA’s Remote Operations Centre particularly monitoring turns nine and ten with a fine-toothed comb.

Lewis Hamilton, Yuki Tsunoda, Carlos Sainz, Kevin Magnussen, Logan Sargeant, Alex Albon, and Pierre Gasly were all given five-second penalties for leaving the track multiple times, with Tsunoda penalised twice (receiving a ten-second penalty for the second offence) and under investigation for not serving his penalty correctly.

Nyck de Vries was also given a five-second penalty for forcing Kevin Magnussen off the track late in the race.

The Formula One World Championship returns next week for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

More to come….

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2023 Formula One World Championship - Austrian Grand Prix Results