Perez charged from P15 to P3, while several drivers were caught out by track limit penalties.
Max Verstappen pulled off another dominant weekend of racing, winning the Sprint and Austrian GP at Red Bull Racing’s home race. Ferrari showed some strong pace as well, with Charles Leclerc returning to the podium for the first time since Azerbaijan in April.
Sergio Perez, meanwhile, charged from P15 to P3, defeating Carlos Sainz to claim the final spot on the podium.
- Verstappen wins, 5.155 secs ahead of Leclerc
- Perez goes from P15 to P3
- Norris P5 for McLaren
Verstappen scores five wins in a row
An early Virtual Safety Car period resulted in opposing tyre strategies, with Ferrari pitting its two drivers, while Red Bull decided to keep Verstappen out. This briefly handed Leclerc the lead, but Verstappen soon reclaimed the spot and even went on to set the fastest lap enroute to securing his fifth consecutive (and seventh total) win this season.
Reflecting on his race, Verstappen said, “We opted not to box during the Virtual Safety Car, and just follow our normal strategy, and I think that worked out really well. The tyre [degradation] was not that high around here and our stints were perfect, so a great day – I enjoyed it a lot!”
Leclerc finished 5.155 secs behind in second place, but that gap would have been around 30 secs had it not been for Verstappen’s second pit stop.
Perez beats Sainz
After a run for poor results, it was pivotal for Perez for deliver a strong performance in Austria. Matters were made more challenging by his P15 starting position, but he delivered a spirited recovery to finish on the podium for the first time since Miami.
Track limit infringements were the big talking point this weekend, and Sainz was one of the drivers to receive a five-second penalty. Taking full advantage of this, Perez soon caught up to Sainz. The two delivered plenty of wheel-to-wheel action before Perez finally made a move stick on Lap 61.
Armed with an updated car, Lando Norris defeated both Aston Martin and Mercedes drivers to finish fifth. Fernando Alonso followed him in sixth place, ahead of the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. The Silver Arrows failed to deliver at the Red Bull Ring and to add to that, Hamilton was one of the several drivers to receive a track limits penalty. Team principal Toto Wolff even got on the team radio, telling Hamilton, “The car is bad, we know. Please drive it”.
Pierre Gasly – another driver to be handed a five-second penalty – finished ninth. Lance Stroll pulled off a late pass on Alex Albon to score the final point.
2023 F1 championship standings
Verstappen has now extended his championship lead to 81 points from teammate Perez. Alonso is 19 points behind Perez in third place.
July is an action-packed month of F1 racing, with four races in five weeks. The next round is at Silverstone on July 7-9.
2023 Austrian GP results
| 2023 Austrian GP results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pos | Driver | Team |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| 3 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
| 8 | George Russell | Mercedes |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine |
| 10 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |
| 11 | Alex Albon | Williams |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine |
| 13 | Logan Sargeant | Williams |
| 14 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo |
| 15 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri |
| 16 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo |
| 17 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren |
| 18 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri |
| 19 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas |
| NC | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas |
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