Another race, another dominant Max Verstappen victory.
Unlike most of the other races in his now five-win streak, Verstappen had to survive the racetrack. Due to the Red Bull Ring’s layout and how drivers see in the cockpit of modern Formula 1 cars, there were a number of penalties (seven drivers in total) for multiple track limit violations.
“I don’t like to think about that yet,” Verstappen said when asked by F1 Media if it’s time to start thinking of himself as a three-time champion. “I’m just enjoying the moment, driving with this car. Working with the team.
“The whole weekend, we’ve done a very good job. The Sprint weekend[s] are always very hectic and a lot of things can go wrong. Luckily, a lot of things went right for us this weekend.”
On lap 26, Verstappen pitted and gave up the lead for the first time in 249 laps of F1 competition. Charles Leclerc did not lead long, however, as Verstappen drove back up and retook the lead on lap 35. Still, Leclerc was able to manage second place on the day.
Sergio Perez started 15th after problems in qualifying and was able to soar through the field to the podium in third. Carlos Sainz spent most of the race in the top three but was unable to hold Perez off in the closing laps.
It was a successful weekend for McLaren Racing. Lando Norris was given a new set of upgrades and was able to finish fifth, ahead of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas and the Aston Martin F1 Team drivers. The decree of Fernando Alonso last month that Aston Martin would finish on the podium the rest of the year failed to materialize, as Alonso could only muster a sixth place.
It was a miserable day for Lewis Hamilton, in which he had to serve a five-second penalty, but he was at least able to end with a points finish in seventh. George Russell finished eighth, and Pierre Gasly ended up ninth. Lance Stroll took the final point of the day in 10th.
There was a safety car on lap one after Yuki Tsunoda made contact with Esteban Ocon, leaving debris all over the racetrack. Tsunoda than ran off into the gravel in turn 3. Tsunoda would finish the day in 18th after multiple penalties while Ocon finished 12th.
On lap 14, Nico Hulkenburg’s engine blew up and he parked his Haas in the turn 2 run-off area, bringing out the virtual safety car. Most of the field chose to pit over the next two laps save for the Red Bull Racing drivers.
Verstappen scored the fastest lap on the day.
2023 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix Results
Next weekend, F1 will be headed to the home race for many teams: The British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit. Lights out will be at 10:00 a.m. ET, with coverage on ESPN.
About the author
Michael has watched NASCAR for 20 years and regularly covered the sport from 2013-2021, and also formerly covered the SRX series from 2021-2023. He now covers the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and road course events in the NASCAR Cup Series.
A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.