Max Verstappen wins his fifth race in a row after taking victory at the Red Bull Ring, leading Leclerc in second and Perez in third.
There was an eventful start for Yuki Tsunoda, as he broke a small part of his front wing making contact with Esteban Ocon at turn 1, then going too deep into turn 4 and finding himself in the gravel. Following this, the stewards called out the safety car, though this was only brief.
Lewis Hamilton’s race began poorly as it became clear that there were some issues with his Mercedes. Lando Norris was keeping a good pace behind, though was complaining of Hamilton taking some liberties with the track limits. He would become the first driver of the day to receive a black and white flag for track limits.
Nico Hulkenberg was forced to retire after his Haas suffered a mechanical issue. Having parked up by turn 3, the stewards decided to bring out a virtual safety car, with many drivers choosing to use this time to take a relatively free pit stop.
The two Ferraris were close to one another in the first stint, with Carlos Sainz seeming to have more pace, though was told not to overtake. This would ultimately lead to frustration after Ferrari chose to double stack under the virtual safety car, with a poor stop for both drivers meaning that Sainz would drop behind Norris, though he would be able to quickly get back ahead. The Spaniard had wanted to stay out during this period.
Sainz then shortly overtook both Hamilton and Perez to get back into the podium spots. though Perez hadn’t pit just yet, he had done a good job of recovering from his poor qualifying position up to that point.
Verstappen would pit on lap 25, giving Leclerc the lead of the race. This would be the first time anybody other than Verstappen would have led a lap of a race since the Miami Grand Prix. Though Verstappen came out just behind Carlos Sainz, it would only take him one lap to get past, and then nine more after that to regain the lead on lap 35.
As the race went on track limits became a larger and larger issue. Hamilton would go on to receive a time penalty after his black and white flag, and would be followed by Tsunoda, Sainz, Ocon and Albon. Norris had to be reminded to stay within the white lines, whilst Hamilton complained of Perez extending.
Norris would get past Hamilton on lap 28, whilst the other Mercedes would be passed by Perez after he had stopped just a few laps prior.
Nyck De Vries and Kevin Magnussen would continue their close fight from Canada, with Magnussen having been forced wide twice, once being made to traverse the gravel, a move that would cause De Vries to receive a five second penalty.
After the second round of stops Sainz had found himself behind Norris once again, though made a good move back under traction on the exit of turn 4. He would soon be joined by Perez, who was continuing on his charge up the grid and look set for a podium. However Sainz put up a stern defence, especially as it looked as though Perez might have had the pace to catch Leclerc for 2nd by the end of the race should he pass soon. However the overtake was inevitable, and Perez finally made it through to third place on lap 62, after which he was unable to then push on for second.
Max Verstappen went for the fastest lap at the end of the race, even though the the team were worried about accidentally throwing the race away from a pit stop mistake. This did not happen, and Verstappen was able to take maximum points from the race, extending his lead at the top to 81 points. Sergio Perez was able to increase the gap to Alonso, who had finished 6th in today’s race, but remains third in the championship, ahead of Hamilton in fourth.
The next race is in Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, which will take place next week.
