Red Bull and Verstappen are on a roll, as the teams have a quick turnaround with the Austrian GP on tap next weekend.
SPIELBERG, Austria—It could not have been any easier for Max Verstappen Sunday afternoon at the Styrian Grand Prix. The Dutchman led from start to finish, beating Lewis Hamilton by 35 seconds. Valtteri Bottas finished third.
Max Verstappen: You never know how it is going to end up, but straight away, I felt a good balance in the car, It was good to manage the tires from the start. They pitted one lap earlier than us, we reacted to that, and we just kept on going, trying to hit our lap times — that worked really well today.
Verstappen got off to a great start with a lead of 2.9 seconds by the 12th lap, which he increased to 4.3 seconds just five laps later. The race had its first round of pitstops by lap 28–with Verstappen stopping one time–and the Red Bull driver continued to hold the lead comfortably by 6.6 seconds with 19 laps to go.
By then, Hamilton knew he would not win, and he pitted for new tires laps before the end. “It was a bit of a lonely race, really,” Hamilton admitted. “I was trying to keep up with those guys but, with the speed they have (they’ve obviously made some big improvements) it was impossible to keep up.”
While it was an easy win for Verstappen, it was a tough day for several others. On the opening lap, Pierre Gasly struck his rear left tire into the front wing of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque pitted for a replacement, but Gasly could not continue his Alpha Tauri, sustaining suspension damage and retiring on lap two. George Russell had a great day early in his Williams, running as high as eighth. But the Briton ended up being the only other retirement of the race, ending his day on lap 39 with major mechanical issues.
As for the season battle between Red Bull and Mercedes, Red Bull took first and fourth, while Mercedes finished second and third. Sergio Perez, in the second Red Bull, was disappointed, while ‘satisfaction’ was the word for Bottas. “It was getting pretty close at the end [with Sergio Perez]. I’m happy to be on the podium again.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris started in the top three but faded to end up in fifth. The two Ferrari’s of Carlos Sainz Jr. and Leclerc finished sixth and seventh, respectively. Lance Stroll and his Aston Martin were up in the grid all race but eventually finished eighth. Fernando Alonso was ninth in the Alpine, and Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) got the last point.
With the national Austrian GP on tap next weekend on this same circuit, Verstappen holds an 18-point lead over Hamilton in the Driver’s Championship. However, the gap is wider in the Constructor’s competition with Red Bull holding a 40-point advantage.
