Verstappen saves F1 and Red Bull as Leclerc rivalry explodes into life

It may have taken more than three hours to be rubberstamped, but Max Verstappen's Austrian Grand Prix victory was well worth the wait.

Brazil 2016, USA 2017 and 2018, Brazil 2018 – not many deliver performances quite like the Dutchman does. Perhaps only Lewis Hamilton's biblical German Grand Prix of last year comes close to Verstappen's greatest hits.

The Red Bull Ring, and its accompanying Oranje Army, rose to toast a Verstappen win for the second year on the spin, but there will have been differing celebrations in Englewood, Colorado – HQ of Liberty Media – and Milton Keynes alike.

First, Verstappen – a richly deserving winner who provided the stand-out performance of 2019.

From adversity comes opportunity, and Verstappen grabbed his with both hands after briefly dropping behind team-mate Pierre Gasly to eighth at a start ruined by anti-stall.

He only travelled a few hundred metres behind the Frenchman and then made short work of Lando Norris and Kimi Raikkonen, before Hamilton's broken front wing gave him another place.

After blasting past Vettel, it seemed that disaster had struck. "I'm losing power… guys?!"

But just a lap later, after some reconfiguration, Valtteri Bottas was pressured into raising the white flag and the chase was on.

Charles Leclerc had controlled the race from pole, but a warp-speed Verstappen caught him with six laps remaining, made attempts to get by over the next two, before finally piercing the inside line at Turn 3 and getting the job done.

A slight tap between them took Leclerc beyond the track limits, but he had lost the corner and the spoils were rightly Verstappen's.

It decided the race

Now the stewards need to decide on this lap 69 pass#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/seyqDmRMVT

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2019

A familiar sinking feeling descended on F1 as a stewards' investigation was almost immediately called.

Unlike recent sanctions for Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo that have frustrated people, Verstappen was not the one leaving the track and gaining an advantage. His advantage had been gained in time-honoured manner and in hindsight, with the mind-scrambling effects of anticipating the worst now cleared, there was only ever going to be one decision, wasn't there?!

F1's reputation has taken a battering as Mercedes embarked on a run of 10-straight wins, falling one short of McLaren's all-time record.

The races were processional and boring, the best team was too good and their rivals were tripped up by red tape and officiating when they were finally run close.

F1 had been condemned so much this year, and was seemingly on life-support after a zombified French GP just seven days prior, but the sport finally has something to hang its hat on, perhaps showing Liberty the way in plotting F1's future.

Verstappen's victory came after several days of intense speculation regarding his future at Red Bull, which had forced both the team and his management to once again confirm that his contract includes performance-based clauses that could allow him to discuss moves to other outfits if certain parameters are not met.

We can now forget about the claim that failing to win before the summer break would allow him to go, and surely both team and driver will finish sufficiently lofty in the standings to prevent the activation of any others.

All suggestions around this talk of clauses were tempered by hints that even if something was activated, Max would be happy to stay, and it's easy to see why.

Red Bull have helped develop the cult of Max, which has spread its tentacles across most races in Europe, but of course especially at the Red Bull Ring, where orange is a uniform and trance-pop is the marching song.

Honda's tentative development and Red Bull losing momentum amid 2019's regulation changes had masked Verstappen's early season form, having mixed it with at least Ferrari in every race this year and frightening the life out of Hamilton in Monaco.

Red Bull would not have been able to afford the full season playing out like this, and the home triumph comes at the perfect time, proving to Verstappen, his management and rabid fans that the four-time champions remain a force, where he can realise his ambitions of becoming F1's youngest champion.

It may already be too late for that in 2019, but this was a sign that both team and driver may be in the window next year. Verstappen's brilliance has never been in doubt, and will always play a role in his successes, but there are signs that Adrian Newey and his team may be starting to deliver the machinery that could make the Dutchman a record-breaker again.

An updated front wing helped him in Austria, confirmed quietly amid a hushed-up upgrade package, and if it has unlocked the true potential of the RB15, then we can look forward to many more off-the-seat moments this year.

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