Austrian Grand Prix F1: Verstappen Humiliates The Competition In An Action Packed Grand Prix

Max Verstappen continued his dominant run at the Austrian Grand Prix, securing both pole position and the race win with another impressive performance. The Red Bull driver led the pack from start to finish, beating Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and his teammate Sergio Perez.

The race was filled with action, including penalties for multiple drivers (about half the grid) due to track limit violations and varying strategies. Verstappen managed to stay out during an early Virtual Safety Car period, giving him an advantage over his rivals. Leclerc briefly took the lead after the VSC, but Verstappen's raw pace and strategic tire choices allowed him to reclaim the top spot.

Perez made a remarkable recovery from 15th on the grid to claim the final podium spot, overtaking Carlos Sainz in the closing stages. Sainz received a post-race penalty for track limit violations, promoting Lando Norris to fourth place, a satisfying result for McLaren with their recent upgrades.

The race stewards reviewed several incidents and penalised multiple drivers, including Logan Sargeant, Nyck de Vries, Yuki Tsunoda, Lewis Hamilton, Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, and Esteban Ocon. These penalties shuffled the order behind Norris, with Fernando Alonso in fifth, followed by Sainz, George Russell, and Hamilton.

Nico Hulkenberg's strong start ended in disappointment as he retired due to a loss of power, triggering a Virtual Safety Car. The race started with a minute's silence to honour Dutch driver Dilano van 't Hoff, who tragically lost his life in a crash, and to remember Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who passed away last year.

Verstappen made a clean start, defending his position from Leclerc throughout the race. Tsunoda and Bottas were involved in an incident at the beginning, leading to Tsunoda's front wing damage. Verstappen built a substantial lead before the first round of pit stops, but Leclerc closed the gap, raising questions about Red Bull's strategy.

Verstappen eventually made his pit stop, rejoining the race behind Leclerc and Sainz. He quickly overtook Sainz and closed in on Leclerc. On Lap 34, Verstappen executed a DRS-assisted pass to take the lead again. Further, down the field, De Vries and Magnussen had a heated battle, resulting in Magnussen running through the gravel.

With different tire strategies in play, Verstappen remained in the lead, followed by Leclerc and Sainz. Perez, after his final stop, worked his way up the field and overtook Sainz for third place. Despite ongoing track limit complaints and car struggles, Perez successfully secured the final podium spot.

Interestingly, on his penultimate lap, even after clenching pole position in the race. Verstappen decided to pit and get a fresh set of tyres to reclaim the fastest lap of the race. Leclerc finished in second place, and Perez completed the podium. Sainz and Norris rounded out the top five, while Hamilton and Russell settled for seventh and eighth, respectively. Gasly and Lance Stroll secured the final points-paying positions.

It was a disappointing race for Williams, as they failed to score any points, with Albon finishing in 11th place. Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas completed the race outside the points, along with Oscar Piastri, De Vries, Kevin Magnussen, and Yuki Tsunoda.

During the race, plenty of drivers were penalised for violating the track limits. Drivers who were fined were: 

• Carlos Sainz – 10-second time penalty
• Lewis Hamilton – 10-second time penalty
• Pierre Gasly – 10-second time penalty
• Alex Albon – 10-second time penalty
• Esteban Ocon – 5-second time penalty
• Esteban Ocon – 10-second time penalty
• Esteban Ocon – 5-second time penalty
• Esteban Ocon – 10-second time penalty (30 seconds in total for Ocon)
• Logan Sargeant – 10-second time penalty
• Nyck de Vries – 10-second time penalty
• Nyck de Vries – 5-second time penalty (15 seconds in total for De Vries)
• Yuki Tsunoda – 5-second time penalty

The new results saw Sainz drop from P4 to P6, with Norris elevated to P4 and Fernando Alonso to P5. Hamilton dropped from P7 to P8, with his teammate George Russell elevated to P7. Meanwhile, Gasly dropped a place to P10, with Lance Stroll rising up to P9, and Ocon dropped from P12 to P14. Albon and Sargeant kept their respective P11 and P13 finishes. AlphaTauri's De Vries dropped from P15 to P17, while his teammate Tsunoda fell from P18 to P19.