Defending champion Max Verstappen was on hearth on Sunday as he clinched a record-breaking fourth victory on the Austrian Grand Prix, additional solidifying his quest for a 3rd world title in emphatic type.
The 25-year-old Dutch sensation crossed the end line a commanding 5.155 seconds forward of a resurgent Charles Leclerc from Ferrari, who secured a second place. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez, displaying renewed vigor, fought his method up from fifteenth on the grid to safe a commendable third-place end.
The race was a take a look at of endurance, marked by security automotive interventions and penalties imposed on a number of drivers for exceeding observe limits.
Pit penalties have been served by a number of drivers, however additional investigations by the stewards resulted in extra late-night punishments for eight drivers, together with Carlos Sainz, who was demoted from fourth to sixth, and Lewis Hamilton, whose seventh-place end was revised to eighth.
Although Verstappen’s uninterrupted streak of main laps got here to an finish at 249 when he made a pit cease, it was merely a brief pause in his relentless pursuit of a fifth consecutive victory and his seventh win in 9 races this season.
This triumph prolonged his lead over Perez within the championship standings to a considerable 81 factors.
Having triumphed within the dash race on Saturday and secured the quickest lap, Verstappen achieved an ideal factors haul for all the weekend. Red Bull group principal Christian Horner lauded the accomplishment, exclaiming over the radio, “That is the full sweep, classy Max, very, very classy.”
Verstappen, celebrating his forty second profession win, responded, “The car was on fire!”
While a 3rd title seems to be inside Verstappen’s grasp, he stays centered on taking every race because it comes. “I don’t like to think about that yet,” he remarked. “I am just enjoying driving this car and racing for this team. The sprint weekend can be very stressful, so I’m just glad it all went to plan.”
With his win, Verstappen climbed to fifth place on the all-time listing of Grand Prix winners, surpassing the legendary Ayrton Senna, with whom he had shared 41 victories since his first win in Canada.
Notably, this was Verstappen’s fifth triumph on the Red Bull Ring circuit, together with his victory within the 2022 Styrian Grand Prix held through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leclerc and Perez additionally expressed satisfaction with their performances. “We have maximized what we have,” Leclerc affirmed. “It was just yesterday that I was off the pace a bit. The upgrades have worked as expected, but there is still a lot of work to do.”
Perez added, “It’s been a rough patch for me, so I hope we are back now, and we can maintain some consistency.”
Ferrari celebrated their 800th podium end because of Leclerc’s robust second-place end result.
Following the stewards’ revised outcomes, McLaren’s Lando Norris claimed fourth place, adopted by two-time champion Fernando Alonso in fifth. Sainz, driving for Ferrari, secured sixth place, main the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Hamilton, who had their positions adjusted.
Lance Stroll of Aston Martin completed ninth, whereas Pierre Gasly of Alpine was relegated to tenth place.
Prior to the race, a minute’s silence was noticed in reminiscence of Dutch racer Dilano van’t Hoff, 18, who tragically misplaced his life in a rain-soaked race at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday.
Under heat and dry situations, Verstappen made a faultless begin, and on lap 25 of the 71-lap race, he made a pit cease, briefly relinquishing the result in Leclerc. However, the Dutch dynamo swiftly regained second place and brilliantly executed an exhilarating maneuver at Turn Three on lap 35, reclaiming his spot on the entrance of the pack.
Hamilton, amongst others, served penalties throughout pit stops, resulting in frustration and fuming over the radio. Team boss Toto Wolff sternly suggested Hamilton, “Lewis, the car is bad. We know it. Please drive it.”
With Verstappen’s dominance on show, the battle for the world championship intensifies, leaving followers eagerly anticipating the subsequent thrilling chapter on this exhilarating Formula One season.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
