SPIELBERG, Austria – Max Verstappen took a win for the home team Sunday by racing to a flawless victory during the Styrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.
The 23-year-old Dutchman started from the pole, took the lead on the start and led all 71 laps for his fourth Formula One triumph in eight races this season.
Driving for Red Bull Racing, Verstappen never faltered throughout the race and took the checkered flag a whopping 35.743 seconds over the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, his chief championship rival.
It marked Verstappen’s 14th career F-1 win and his third at Red Bull Racing’s home venue.
“I am super happy to win here, and doing it at home at the Red Bull Ring is always so special,” Verstappen said. “I had a really enjoyable race, the car was working well and I always enjoy driving on this track. I just focused on my own race, concentrating on hitting the apexes in the places I wanted to, looking after the tires and it worked out well.
“You never know how competitive or how close it’s going to be on a Sunday and, to be honest, I really wasn’t expecting it to be like it was today because the long run pace between the two teams was very closely matched all weekend,” Verstappen added. “Overall, we’ve had a really positive weekend and, of course, it’s not going to be completely the same next week. Everyone else will also learn from this race so we will of course try and do even better and keep improving ourselves so we can stay ahead.
“It’s a whole team effort, so thank you very much to everyone here and back at the factory for another great win today.”
Behind Verstappen and Hamilton, the sister Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas completed the podium ahead of the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez and the McLaren of Lando Norris.
The Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda closed the points-scoring positions in the top 10.
The Styrian Grand Prix ran uninterrupted from start to finish, but there were a handful of notable incidents during the race that took out several drivers from contention for solid finishes.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was hit in the left rear by Leclerc’s Ferrari in turn one of the opening lap. The contact led to a cut tire and suspension damage that led to an early retirement from the race.
A hydraulic failure on George Russell’s Williams during his lap-37 pit stop scuttled Russell’s bid for his first points with the Williams team, after he’d driven from 10th starting spot up to seventh place.
The Formula One season continues July 4 with the MyWorld Austrian Grand Prix, back at the Red Bull Ring as the second half of a doubleheader at the Red Bull Ring.
The finish:
1. Max Verstappen, 2. Lewis Hamilton, 3. Valtteri Bottas, 4. Sergio Perez, 5. Lando Norris, 6. Carlos Sainz, 7. Charles Leclerc, 8. Lance Stroll, 9. Fernando Alonso, 10. Yuki Tsunoda, 11. Kimi Raikkonen, 12. Sebastian Vettel, 13. Daniel Ricciardo, 14. Esteban Ocon, 15. Antonio Giovinazzi, 16. Mick Schumacher, 17. Nicholas Latifi, 18. Nikita Mazepin, 19. George Russell, 20. Pierre Gasly.