Max Verstappen once again proved his dominance over rival Mercedes at the Austrian Grand Prix and secured his fifth Formula 1 race this season. Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas finally found rest in his difficult season, securing P2 ahead of Lando Norris, who drove an impressive race to secure his third podium of the season.
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Lewis Hamilton drove his heart out just to see the checkered flag at P4, which Mercedes will be very happy with considering the Brit suffered significant damage to his car.
Carlos Sainz managed to secure P5 despite ending up behind Sergio Perez as the latter had two 5-second penalties for knocking Charles Leclerc off the track twice.
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Race start in Spielberg
It was a clean start from most of the grid except for Esteban Ocon, who suffered suspension damage after colliding with Antonio Giovinazzi at Turn 3. The Frenchman parked his car right next to the track and forced the commissioners to opt for a safety car.
Formula 1 F1 – Austrian Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Styria, Austria – 4th July 2021 Esteban Ocon from Alpine is seen after retiring from the race REUTERS / Lisi Niesner
The drivers then entered the race on lap 4 and this time it was Perez who suffered a severe blow after Norris pushed the Red Bull driver onto the gravel at turn 4.
As a result, the Mexican landed on P10. Behind the top 4, the AlphaTauri and Aston Martin drivers got off to a brilliant start, as the four drivers held positions from P5 to P8.
The first round of pit stops and penalties
Gasly became the first rider to pit for a set of hard tires on lap 14, followed by Tsunoda and Stroll on the following lap. The only driver who still had to box on soft tires was Vettel, who eventually pitted on lap 18 for a set of hard tires.
On lap 20, the Stewards imposed a 5-second penalty on Norris for knocking Perez off the track during the safety car restart, which was a heavy blow to his podium hopes. Giovinazzi and Tsunoda also suffered time penalties.
On lap 31, Ricciardo became the first driver among those who drove on harder compounds to pit for a set of hard tires, followed by his own McLaren teammate and Bottas.
Formula 1 F1 – Austrian Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Styria, Austria – July 4th, 2021 Mercedes Lewis Hamilton during the REUTERS / Leonhard Foeger race
Norris’ penalty meant the Finn beat him to P3. Hamilton decided on a new set of tires on lap 32, while his title rival made his stop on lap 33.
The other Red Bull driver pitted on lap 34, but a stop of 3.1 seconds prevented the Mexican from gaining a position. Fortunately, despite the bad stop, Perez managed to jump onto Leclerc when the Ferrari driver pitted on lap 36.
Raikkonen, who drove on P6, finally pitted on lap 38 after an impressive stint on medium-sized tires. Finally, it was time for Sainz to be the last driver on the track to stop on lap 51.
Second half of the race & the checkered flag
Gasly, who pitted at the beginning of the race, formed a huge train of cars between him on P6 and Leclerc on P9. During the intense fight, Perez finally forced the Monegasque off the track at Turn 4 and, unsurprisingly, suffered a 5-second penalty.
Gasly, the driver, finally made his second stop and finally let the drivers drive on with their much fresher tires.
Formula 1 F1 – Austrian Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Styria, Austria – July 4th, 2021 Red Bulls Max Verstappen at the REUTERS / Leonhard Foeger race
Meanwhile, Norris moved closer to the Mercedes drivers, forcing the Brackley team to swap Hamilton for Bottas. But that wasn’t enough to save the Knight from Norris, who made a great move against Hamilton at Turn 6.
Lewis then pitted to get a new set of tires, hoping to delay Norris and even Bottas. However, the damage to his car denies this.
On the very last lap there was a major incident when Raikkonen crashed into Vettel in the 6th corner and left the two paths down.
F1 drivers’ championship
- Max Verstappen – 182
- Lewis Hamilton – 150
- Sergio Perez – 104
- Lando Norris – 101
- Valtteri Bottas – 92
- Charles Leclerc – 62
- Carlos Sainz – 60
- Daniel Ricciardo – 40
- Pierre Gasly – 39
- Sebastian Vettel – 30
- Fernando Alonso – 20th
- Lance hike – 14
- Esteban Ocon – Dec.
- Yuki Tsunoda – 9
- Kimi Raikkonen – 1
- Antonio Giovinazzi – 1st
- George Russell – 0
- Mick Schumacher – 0
- Nikita Mazepin – 0
- Nicholas Latifi- 0
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F1 constructors’ championship
- Red Bull Racing Honda – 286
- Mercedes – 242
- McLaren Mercedes – 141
- Ferrari – 122
- AlphaTauri Honda – 48th
- Aston Martin Mercedes – 44
- Alpine Renault – 32
- Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari – 2nd
- Williams-Mercedes – 0
- Haas-Ferrari – 0
Overall, the Austrian Grand Prix says goodbye to the first triple header of the 2021 F1 season, which, apart from the rather boring Styrian Grand Prix, was quite impressive.
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Now fans will have to wait a few more weeks to welcome the British Grand Prix, which will also see F1 host a sprint race for the first time.
The post Austrian GP F1 race report, updated driver and constructor standings, as Verstappen extends the lead over Hamilton first appeared on monter-une-startup.
