Austrian GP: Leclerc too strong for Verstappen as he takes victory

Charles Leclerc was simply too quick for Max Verstappen as he claimed victory at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Ferrari driver would overtake the Red Bull three times during a dramatic race in Spielberg to score his first win since Melbourne back in April.

It wasn’t a perfect day for the Scuderia though as a major engine failure for Carlos Sainz denied them a potential one-two finish.

Instead, Lewis Hamilton would capitalise to finish third for Mercedes.

Race Review

A perfect start for Verstappen saw him retain the lead ahead of Leclerc into Turn 1.

Behind Sainz consolidated second as Sergio Perez and George Russell battled for third and fourth.

Entering Turn 4, the Mexican on the outside would be spun into the gravel by Russell and later retired after falling a lap behind.

A wide moment at Turn 1 for Hamilton allowed Mick Schumacher up to seventh. This as a train formed behind Russell, who was given a five-second penalty for the Lap 1 incident.

Up front, Leclerc applied the pressure on Verstappen, with the Monegasque getting ahead with a great move up the inside at Turn 4.

That triggered the Dutchman to pit for Hard tyres as tyre wear proved to be Red Bull’s weakness.

After following the Haas’ in the Sprint, Hamilton made two quick moves on Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen to run third as others also pitted.

The seven-time world champion then had a brief battle with Verstappen as the Dutchman made his way back through on fresh tyres.

After going much longer in the first stint, Leclerc wasted time to catch and repass Max for the lead following his first pit stop.

That led Red Bull to pit Verstappen for the second time, leaving him free to chase the two red cars ahead.

Instead, Ferrari also switched to a two-stop, with Leclerc quickly catching and passing Verstappen for the third time to re-take the lead.

Just as Sainz was about to attack for second place, a dramatic engine failure saw his car catch fire after he came to a stop off the track.

A Virtual Safety Car to recover the stricken Ferrari saw the leading duo pit again and switch back to medium tyres.

In the closing laps, Leclerc overcame throttle issues to claim an impressive victory on enemy territory.

Verstappen had to settle for second with Hamilton making it three consecutive podiums in third for Mercedes.

Russell also recovered from his penalty to finish fourth, passing Ocon after the VSC.

A week after scoring his first points at Silverstone, Mick Schumacher produced a brilliant drive to finish sixth, with Lando Norris coming through to take seventh.

Kevin Magnussen was eighth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso, who fought through from starting from the pit-lane to score the final point in 10th.

Full results from the race can be seen below:

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