From the start, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) flew over the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday in Spielberg from start to finish.
The Dutchman secured his seventh win in nine races this season.
Verstappen was ahead of Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) this time and Mexican Sergio Perez (Red Bull), who moved up from 15th to 3rd to complete the podium at the Red Bull Ring. With his 2nd place, Leclerc achieved Ferrari’s best result of the season.
For his part, Quebec driver Lance Stroll (Aston-Martin) finished 10th.
Verstappen, a two-time defending champion who was already largely in the lead before arriving in the mountains of Styria, leaves the race with a stratospheric lead of 81 points over his closest rival, teammate Pérez. At the age of 25, “Mad Max” won for the 42nd time in Formula 1 and is rapidly heading for his third world championship title in a row.
With four successes, he became the record holder for victories at the Austrian Grand Prix ahead of Frenchman Alain Prost. Verstappen also took his fifth win at this circuit, having also won the Styrian Grand Prix there, which he contested in addition to the Austrian GP in 2021 to compensate for cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari) and Lando Norris (McLaren) finished 4th and 5th.