Styrian Grand Prix – Race: Verstappen wins without difficulty

Start and first half of the race

Max Verstappen got off to an excellent start, as did Lewis Hamilton and the other drivers behind them. Lando Norris managed to withstand Sergio Pérez’s attacks to take 3rd place!

It was, however, Pierre Gasly who made a very bad move before turn 3. In the previous curve, the Normand, starting in 5th place, had a more complicated flying start: contact with Charles Leclerc, then tumbling down the rankings…the AlphaTauri lost its left rear suspension: it was the end of the race for the Frenchman! What a shame, considering he had a great qualifying.

Charles Leclerc and Nicholas Latifi returned to the pits, the latter having punctured. Charles Leclerc came back out as the last.

At the front of the race, Verstappen did not choose to wait for Hamilton and quickly pulled away. Two, then three, then four seconds: the Dutchman set a frantic pace for himself!

Lando Norris, beautiful 3rd, finally gave in to Sergio Pérez’s attacks: the Mexican made a superb move at turn 3 by diving from very far away!

Valtteri Bottas did not hesitate and also overtook the British McLaren one lap later.

On the French side, Fernando Alonso’s Alpine was being chased by George Russell in 7th place, much to the despair of Esteban Ocon, who was out of the running and out of points.

First pit stops

The first tire changes took place around the 27th lap:

George Russell, comfortably in 8th place, pitted for hard tires… but he faced an air pressure issue, sacrificing his points-scoring chances for the second time this season. The English driver pitted again a lap later.

Similar problem for Sergio Pérez, the first driver of the top teams to go through the pits: 4.7 seconds stop for the Mexican. Bottas didn’t ask for so much, and also came in to change tires. It went much better, and the Finn took the advantage through the use of hard tires switching!

On the other hand, status quo at the front of the race: with approximately a 5-second lead, Verstappen was able to maintain the advantage over Lewis Hamilton. However, the latter chose to go all out to try to catch up with his championship rival!

George Russell’s race is over on the 39th lap, forced to retire by Williams. Huge disappointment for him, after a brilliant 11th place qualification and on course for potential points.

Note a very good race by Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso, in 7th and 8th positions after their tire changes. The other Ferrari, driven by Charles Leclerc, engaged in a brief battle with his predecessor at Ferrari, Kimi Räikkönen, for the 12th position. He went on the hunt for the second Alfa Romeo, and for points!

Lewis Hamilton did not seem able to challenge Max Verstappen for the victory. A four-tenths difference per lap bodes ill for the seven-time world champion…

Impressive fact, but hardly surprising: the 5th in the Grand Prix, Lando Norris…was lapped by Max Verstappen on the 55th lap. The leaders only leave crumbs for the rest of the pack.

In the same lap, Sergio Pérez put on new medium tires, in order to prevent Lewis Hamilton from getting the point for the fastest lap in the race. And it was done: 1:07:4 for Sergio Pérez, who is even capable of catching Bottas.

Behind, the Ferraris are still as surprising: Charles Leclerc managed to climb back to 7th place, behind his teammate Sainz! A superb comeback from the Monegasque!

Incredible as well: Carlos Sainz, faster than Lewis Hamilton, overtook the Mercedes to regain his lap. After all, what’s the importance for Hamilton? He certainly wouldn’t go after Verstappen for the win.

Hamilton eventually came into the pits on the penultimate lap for the fastest lap point.

Max Verstappen easily won, while Lewis Hamilton clocked a 1:07:058, earning him a point; Sergio Pérez, missed the podium by half a second.

Here are the results of this Grand Prix: