Verstappen completes PERFECT Austrian GP weekend with sensational win

The championship leader was untouchable again as he extended his points lead in the Styrian hills

Joe Ellis

Sunday 2 July 2023 16:33

Max Verstappen completed the perfect weekend by cruising to victory in the Austrian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman got away from the line well and fended off the attacks of Charles Leclerc on the opening lap, to hold the lead early on.

Red Bull chose a different strategy to Ferrari during an early virtual safety car and even though the Scuderia got both cars ahead of Verstappen, he soon cycled back to the front.

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As the race wore on, neither Leclerc nor Carlos Sainz could keep up with the 'King of the Red Bull Ring' who set the fastest lap on the final lap of the race to take the maximum points from the weekend.

Leclerc had a big enough gap to remain in second despite a charging Sergio Perez late in the race, who eventually finished third from 15th on the grid.

Sainz held onto fourth despite pressure from the highly-impressive Lando Norris who kept up with the big two teams to finish fifth in the McLaren.

Fernando Alonso came home sixth after a somewhat unorthodox strategy to ditch the hard tyres early but it worked enough to see him beat Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to the flag with ease.

Pierre Gasly secured a solid ninth while Lance Stroll charged late in the day to pass Alex Albon for the final point.

Track Limits... again

The race was not 10 laps old when Norris came over the radio to mention how often Hamilton was exceeding track limits.

The seven-time world champion was eventually given a five-second penalty for the succession of offences as the trend of the weekend continued.

Sainz was another high-profile driver to be given an extra five seconds to serve which he did so at his second pit stop of the race.

Yuki Tsunoda was also penalised early in the 71-lap bonanza with Albon and Gasly falling victim to the dreaded white line as well. Tsunoda then got another penalty for seven track limit violations.

47 laps were deleted in Friday's qualifying and it was still an issue during the sprint shootout but the track can't change due to safety requirements for bike racing, it's down to the drivers to get it right.

The most wanted man in F1

Lando Norris may not have stood on the podium, as he has done twice before at the Red Bull Ring, but he proved his talent in the Styrian hills.

The Brit had an upgraded McLaren to play with after quick work in the factory saw it arrive a race early and he put it to good use, racing with Hamilton and the Ferraris all afternoon on pure pace.

Unless this trajectory continues for the Woking team, Norris will surely be getting ready to leave if a seat at a top team becomes available.

Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes will all be on high alert to Norris' situation and if any of them decide to change it up, the Glastonbury-born man will be the first man they call.