Verstappen knocks out the competition: the standings after the 10th race of the 2023 season
If he hadn't stopped at the end of the race to put on new tires, Max Verstappen would have finished the race over 25 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc. And behind, the competition was far behind. However, this sprint weekend in Austria has brought some changes.
In Canada, the gaps had been greatly reduced, with Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton finishing only about ten seconds behind Verstappen’s Red Bull. In Austria, the story was not the same. Mercedes and Aston Martin were less competitive, and it was Ferrari that fought at the front. A second place on the grid for Charles Leclerc, a third place at the finish of the sprint race, that’s enough to boost the morale of the prancing horse for the main race. But once again, the lightning Max Verstappen struck.
The Dutch driver now has 229 points compared to 148 for his teammate Sergio Pérez. Although there has been some improvement for the Mexican, a mistake in qualifying condemned him to a race comeback, which he finished in third place. He is still losing points to Max Verstappen and more than ever, letting the world championship crown slip away. However, he is still gaining points on Fernando Alonso, who is third in the driver’s championship.
On his side, Charles Leclerc is now tied in points with George Russell and now has only a 10-point gap behind Carlos Sainz. But this weekend primarily allows Ferrari to regain points against their rivals Mercedes and Aston Martin. The Reds are now only 21 points behind Aston Martin and 24 points behind Mercedes. The race for second place in the championship is in full swing.
Behind, McLaren is taking a big step forward with this fourth place finish from Lando Norris. With 3 points for Alpine this weekend compared to 12 for McLaren, the Woking-based team is closing the gap to its French rival to 18 points. At this level as well, the battle is reignited.
Finally, it’s Haas who made the right move in this sprint weekend. The American team didn’t score any points during the Grand Prix but took advantage of the sprint format to secure 7th place in the constructor’s championship. With Nico Hülkenberg’s 6th place finish in the sprint race, Haas gained three more points than their rivals Alfa Romeo, AlphaTauri, and Williams. This sprint format has shown in Austria that it can be very important for smaller teams. Haas perfectly seized their opportunity.
It should be noted that Logan Sargeant and Nyck de Vries have yet to score any points this season.
Les classements pilotes #F1 et constructeurs après le GP d’Autriche et toutes les pénalités ça donne: pic.twitter.com/dJo2GGLH1g
— Motors Inside F1 (@MotorsInside) July 3, 2023
