Max Verstappen drives superior to victory in Austria

In his ‘home race’, Max Verstappen only had to tolerate the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz briefly after his first pit stop, but his speed was so much higher on the fresh tires that he overtook the Monegask and the Spaniard within a few laps. caught up. The unapproachable Verstappen won a GP on the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg for the fifth time. It was his seventh win of the season and his 42nd win in total. He extended his lead in the championship even further. Leclerc finished second, 5 seconds behind. Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull, Sergio Pérez, managed to work his way up from fifteenth on the grid to third. Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri) finished fifteenth and also remained without points in his ninth Formula 1 race of this year.

Verstappen addressed his thousands of fans before the race, who manifested themselves in the stands like an orange sea. He promised to do his best to win the race. Then it was time for a minute’s silence in memory of Dilano van ‘t Hoff, the 18-year-old racing talent who died on Saturday in a crash on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The 25-year-old Limburger had to pay attention at the start. He started from pole position, but Leclerc put him under dangerous pressure in the first corners. However, the Monegask failed to steer his Ferrari past the Red Bull. From the moment Verstappen comfortably took first place, he started a flawless race in which he once again humiliated the competition. He was so far ahead towards the end of the race that he could easily make an extra pit stop and record the fastest lap on fresh rubber.

Verstappen was also one of the few who had full control of his car and stayed neatly within the lines of the circuit. Many other drivers, including Lewis Hamilton and Sainz, were given a 5-second time penalty during the race because they too often exceeded the so-called ‘track limits’ with four wheels.

De Vries drove a race in the rear. The Dutchman is under pressure with his team; he has to perform better in order not to lose his seat during the season. In Spielberg he mainly had a fight with the Dane Kevin Magnussen (Haas). The race management gave De Vries a 5 second time penalty because he hindered Magnussen too much.