Max Verstappen wins Austrian Grand Prix
July 4, 2021
Max Verstappen led from the front in cruise control as he extended his championship lead in front of a partisan crowd at his Red Bull team's home grand prix on Sunday.
His main rival, Lewis Hamilton, started behind surprise front-row qualifier Lando Norris and struggled to get past his fellow Brit early in the race, handing Verstappen an advantage that he refused to give up. When Hamilton did eventually slip past Norris on lap 20, he was unable to make significant headway with the Red Bull car showing the extra pace it appears to have over the previously dominant Mercedes.
Norris was handed a five-second penalty soon after to rub salt in his wounds. Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who started in third, then took the same punishment twice over later on, following two skirmishes while Hamilton was forced to nurse damage done to the rear of his car on turn 10.
That mishap meant that Mercedes allowed teammate Valtteri Bottas to overtake Hamilton, who was forced in to the pits, only to emerge to briefly claim the fastest lap, before Verstappen nicked that back and Norris passed his compatriot.
But the trials and tribulations of his race rivals were irrelevant to the Dutch championship leader, who looked entirely untroubled leading the way in Spielberg to open a significant gap over Hamilton, who eventually came in fourth, in the standings. He’s perhaps starting to feel equally serene about leading the title race.
Austrian Grand Prix podium
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
Drive of the day
Though one British driver who started F1 life under the McLaren banner struggled, Norris impressed once again. Given that his car is a notch below Red Bull and Mercedes, holding on to the second place he started with was a very tall order, so finishing third after a smooth overtake of Hamilton late on was further evidence of his potential. Norris, 21, has registered points in every race this year and will be eager to impress at his home Grand Prix next time out.
Quote of the day
"I think even before Q1 started they were just jumping and bouncing around and having a good time, especially of course with the last one and a half years and what everyone has gone through, and then to open it all up again and everything seems a bit more normal.
"It doesn’t matter if they are orange or not, just in general to see the fans there is amazing. So, hopefully we can give them a good race" — Max Verstappen, on the presence of 100,000 fans after a long absence.
Current standings after Austrian Grand Prix
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) — 182 points
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) — 150
- Sergio Perez (Red Bull) — 104
- Lando Norris (McLaren) — 101
- Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) — 92