With the Austrian Grand Prix completed at the Red Bull ring, Max Verstappen and Red Bull win on the team’s home turf. This was the 2nd Sprint weekend of the season. This means Qualifying on Friday, with Saturday completely devoted to the Sprint event.
Before the race began, there was a minute of silence for the young Dutch driver, Dilano van ‘t Hoff. He died a day earlier at the Austrian Grand Prix while he was competing at Spa in the FRECA race.
A minutes silence for Dilano van ‘t Hoff in Austria
Today, we go racing for Dilano ❤️#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/9YyudMukfl
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 2, 2023
The stands were filled with Red Bull and Max Verstappen fans. As expected we saw a sea of orange smoke as Verstappen won the Grand Prix. Both of the home team’s cars had an impressive race this weekend. After a disappointing qualifying on Friday for Sergio Perez, he put in an impressive performance to finish on the podium.
Both the Ferraris make some progress as they occupy 2nd place on the podium with Charles Leclerc. Carlos Sainz went on to finish in P4 after losing to Sergio Perez after an intense battle that lasted for 4 laps.
RACE CLASSIFICATION 🇦🇹
Verstappen reigns supreme in Austria 💪
Leclerc returns to the podium! 🙌#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/hfZAACAs2n
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 2, 2023
Lando Norris earned driver of the day after achieving his best finishing position of the season. Lando finished 5th position completing the top 5. It was a difficult weekend for Mercedes and Aston Martin. Fernando finished P6 with Hamilton and Russell behind him. Lance Stroll finished P10 taking the last points position of the race.
Verstappen takes the usual pole
As some viewers were expecting rain on Friday evening, the sky would say otherwise. Although it was cloudy at times, there was no rain during the entire Qualifying session.
As expected, Max Verstappen took pole position for the Sunday Grand Prix. However, things were not so celebratory on the other side of the Red Bull garage. Sergio Perez once again found himself out in Q2. This is the 4th race weekend in a row where he did not take part in Q3.
An epic scrap for pole 🔥
But it was Verstappen who just managed to edge out Leclerc by the finest of margins 👏#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/kMgdPzAcN0
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2023
The Ferraris seem to have made impressive progress compared to other races. Charles Leclerc qualified in P2 just 0.048 seconds behind Max Verstappen.
What happened at the Sprint?
As the Saturday sessions began. the Red Bulls made it a front-row lockout during the Sprint Shootout. It was a disappointing Saturday for the Mercedes and Ferraris as compared to the Friday they had. Hulkenberg impressively found himself starting at P4 for the Sprint race.
The Sprint Race started in wet but drying conditions, both Red Bull went on battling through the first few corners. The battle would put Perez in a compromising position towards the end of the lap allowing Nico Hulkenberg to take 2nd position early on in the race.
Your Top 8 points-scorers from #F1Sprint 👏#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/ngIs5DdHAZ
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 1, 2023
The Haas would not be able to hold on to 2nd position for too long. We eventually saw Perez, and Sainz overtake Hulkenberg. As the track started drying by lap 17, a few cars, including Nico Hulkenberg took the gamble and pitted for dry tires. But the top 5 would remain on the track with intermediates. Although Hulkenberg was closing in fast to the cars ahead, he would end up finishing at P6 scoring 3 points for the team.
Lights out in front of the orange army
As the lights went out in front of an orange grandstand at the Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc got an even start. Although Leclerc tried to challenge Max in a couple of corners, he was not able to capitalize. A minor incident in the back involving Yuki Tsunoda would leave some debris on the track resulting in a safety car.
LAP 1/71
TSUNODA IS INTO THE GRAVEL!
The Safety Car has been deployed ⚠️#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/EPchkLYWN1
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 2, 2023
As the race resumed, it was an even start by all the cars on track. Max Verstappen would go on to extend his gap to the rest of the cars. Carlos Sainz felt he was faster than Leclerc a few laps after the safety car came in, but the team ordered him not to attack Leclerc. However, Sainz maintained a gap of under a second to Leclerc.
Trouble for Hulkenberg after an impressive qualifying
After qualifying P8 on Friday, Hulkenberg has a decent start and maintained his position in the points. However, on lap 14, Nico would face an engine issue forcing him to retire. The incident would start a Virtual Safety Car giving a chance for the cars to pit for fresh tires.
LAP 14/71
Nico Hulkenberg has lost power and has pulled off the track down an escape road! #AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/0bsLqf3Dd1
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 2, 2023
Both Ferraris would pit under the VSC, but a slow stop on both cars would see Sainz behind Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez. Lewis Hamilton had a pit a lap earlier still under the VSC while Perez was yet to pit. Sainz was not happy with the decision to box for fresh tires.
Carlos Sainz climbs back up at the Austrian Grand Prix
After finding himself 3 cars behind Leclerc after pitting against his will, Sainz was on a mission to fight his way back. Carlos Sainz starts to overtake the cars in front of him and by lap 21, he would find himself in P3 once again.
LAP 19/71
WHEEL-TO-WHEEL 🤯
Sainz makes a mega move past Hamilton to take P4 #AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/nd8LD4c6Md
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 2, 2023
Sainz made a few impressive overtakes on Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez. Lewis Hamilton also got a 5-second penalty early in the race for track limits.
Max Verstappen pits
On lap 24, Max Verstappen decides to come inside the pits to get rid of his old medium tires. He would have hoped to come out ahead of Carlos Sainz. But Sainz’s fast laps previously would put him ahead.
LAP 25/71
VERSTAPPEN PITS! LECLERC LEADS!!
Sainz is also up into P2 as Verstappen comes out behind the Ferrari driver #AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/fsrurSoNRq
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 2, 2023
However, a lap later, Max Verstappen overtakes Sainz going into lap 3. This would see him just a few seconds behind the leader, Charles Leclerc. Meanwhile, behind the leaders, Lewis Hamilton was unhappy with the penalty he received for track limits and started to complain about Sergio Perez crossing track limits.
LAP 26/71
VERSTAPPEN OVERTAKES SAINZ! 👊
He reclaims P2 from the Ferrari driver
Leclerc is 6 seconds in front #AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/QiiAW6t3rs
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 2, 2023
As Hamilton tries to keep the car inside the white lines, Lando Norris in the McLaren behind overtakes him. This was followed by Carlos Sainz getting a penalty for track limits as well.
Max Verstappen leads the Austrian Grand Prix once again
After falling to P3 after Verstappen pitted on lap 24, 10 laps later, Verstappen would once again take the lead by overtaking Leclerc in turn 2.
LAP 35/71
VERSTAPPEN TAKES THE LEAD OFF LECLERC! #AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/I5ZIelJELx
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 2, 2023
Max would once again go on to build a gap to the Ferraris. Pitting under the VSC earlier would prove to be the wrong move for the Ferraris. This went down as another strategy screw-up by Ferrari. Ferrari even proposed a 3-stop strategy to Leclerc which was immediately rejected by Leclerc.
Drivers come in for their second stop
On lap 42, all the cars that had pitted under the VSC earlier started to come in for the 3rd set of tires. This string of pit stops would see a couple of drivers including Lewis Hamilton serve their time penalties. Carlos Sainz however decided to stay out for a while longer.
Four laps later, Carlos Sainz comes in for his pit stop. After serving his 5-second time penalty, Sainz would come out behind Lando Norris. However, Sainz would take back the position on the same lap. A couple of laps later, Leclerc would pit as well. He would come out 8 seconds behind Perez who still had a pit stop remaining.
LAP 46/71
But, not for long!
Sainz makes a mega move round the outside to take P4 back from Norris#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/e1JlYR1YZd
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 2, 2023
By lap 50, Max Verstappen would pit and come out maintaining the lead of the Grand Prix. This would see him cruise to another easy victory at the Austrian Grand Prix. Sergio Perez pit a lap later and came out 4 seconds behind Norris. This would give him a chance to fight for a podium finish, which was a result much needed by the Mexican after a couple of bad weekends.
The Checo Charge at the Austrian Grand Prix
As Perez started the race in P15, Perez was able to fight his way to give himself a chance to fight for a podium. On lap 56, he was able to overtake Lando Norris for P4. The car ahead was Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari.
LAP 60/71
PEREZ IS PAST SAINZ, BUT SAINZ FIGHTS BACK!
This is INSANE! Sainz takes back P3 from Checo 🤯#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/8DlNuWbVfY
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 2, 2023
LAP 62/71
PEREZ OVERTAKES SAINZ!
He makes the move stick finally to snatch P3#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/YNkMVhSwcl
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 2, 2023
After a few intense battles between Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz, on lap 62, Sergio Perez overtakes Sainz to take the final podium finish. Unfortunately, Sainz would not be able to keep up with the Red Bull of Sergio Perez. That would bring an end to the most entertaining battle this weekend.
Max Verstappen pits for fastest lap
As Max Verstappen was 24 seconds ahead of the car behind. He felt that he had a comfortable lead to pit for fresh tires and go for the fastest lap. Max had another commanding race this weekend as he took the chequered flag with the fastest lap of the Grand Prix. As Max took the chequered flag, the track filled with orange smoke coming from the grandstands.
LAP 69/71
Verstappen comes into the pits to box for a fastest lap attempt!
He really wants those 26 points 😂#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/SsDDXXVJi0
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 2, 2023
Sergio Perez made an incredible comeback from P15 to finish on the podium. Although it was a better result for the Ferraris, they would have hoped for a better result for Carlos Sainz.
What we learned from the Austrian Grand Prix
After the Austrian Grand Prix, it became clear that Red Bull was the only team winning consistently on all circuits. The following teams have had their ups and down throughout the season. There are times when the Ferrari was fast, there are times when Aston Martin is fast, and there are times when Mercedes are fast. But no matter what, Red Bull is the fastest.
McLaren brought in some new upgrades for the Austrian Grand Prix. But they only used the upgrades on Lando’s car while Piastri will receive the upgrades next weekend at Silverstone. These new McLaren upgrades proved to be powerful for Lando Norris. This has Oscar Piastri excited about the upgrades for the next race.
Your Grand Prix podium stars in Austria! 🇦🇹✨
🥇 Max Verstappen
🥈 Charles Leclerc
🥉 Sergio Perez #AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/uNOQRHiCqK— Formula 1 (@F1) July 2, 2023
There is a huge possibility that Red Bull will go on to win every race this season. While there were times Ferrari has come close to Red Bull, they have not been able to keep up with them during the race.
We now head to the home of Formula 1 in Silverstone. We will witness a special British Grand Prix next weekend with Brad Pitt shooting for his new Formula 1 film during the weekend. We can expect some nice shots of Brad Pitt in a Formula car.
Let us see how long Red Bull can keep up with this winning streak that they have going. Can any of the other teams even come close to Red Bull this season? There is a possibility that a lot of the teams have given up on catching up with Red Bull this year and already focusing on next year. Let us see how the cars develop over the coming weeks.