Sunday 4th July 2021
Update
Vettel crashed in the last lap
Verstappen dominates and races to the F1 novelty
For the first time in the history of Formula 1, a driver wins three races in 15 days. Without getting into any difficulties, Max Verstappen wins the Austrian Grand Prix and continues to expand the leadership of the World Cup. Sebastian Vettel is crashed on the last lap.
The Verstappen Festival Weeks in Formula 1 continue: When the crowds returned to Spielberg, Max Verstappen celebrated his third Grand Prix victory within 15 days – a driver has never succeeded. He also clearly set himself apart in the World Cup duel with record champion Lewis Hamilton. At the home race of his Austrian Red Bull team, the Dutchman celebrated a start-to-finish victory in front of Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas and Lando Norris in a McLaren. Top Mercedes star Hamilton finished fourth after a driving mistake with a slightly damaged car; his World Championship deficit on Verstappen grew to 32 points.
“It was unbelievable,” said Verstappen: “The car felt absolutely great. I’m a little surprised myself how well it went.” Bottas thought it was “nice to be on the podium again, these are good points for the team. We still have some work to do before Silverstone.” Third-placed Norris, who cost second place with a five-second penalty from the early stages of the race, was “a little disappointed, but okay, third place is also good. I’m satisfied.”
Sebastian Vettel clearly missed the points in his Aston Martin after being transferred to eleventh place on the grid. On the last lap, he spun in 13th place after a collision with his long-time Ferrari team-mate Kimi Räikkönen (Finland) and was listed as 17th immediately ahead of Mick Schumacher in the Haas. “That was unnecessary,” Vettel radioed to the pits: “I’m not sure if he saw me.”
Mercedes now five races without a win
In front of tens of thousands of compatriots on the Red Bull Ring, Verstappen won the Austrian Grand Prix just as confidently as the Styria Grand Prix at the same place a week ago. Mercedes, world champion racing team for the past seven years, is falling more and more behind after five races in a row without a win.
The explanation: Mercedes is already working flat out to develop its racing car for 2022 when new regulations come into effect. Red Bull, on the other hand, continues to put a lot of energy into updates for the current car – at least at the moment it is paying off.
The weekend highlight from Mercedes’ point of view was the contract extension with Hamilton until the end of 2023. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was looking forward to the continuation of the Hamilton / Verstappen duel on behalf of many, even if the momentum is increasingly on the side of the bull racing team and Verstappens . “The passion burns in Lewis,” said Mercedes Motorsport Director Toto Wolff: “The tough championship fight sparked additional sparks. Lewis really enjoys fighting with us.”
For the first time in 70 races, no Mercedes was in the top three on the grid – but that was not the only reason why Hamilton went into the ninth race of the season with little confidence. “When I look at our pace, we don’t have to worry about winning. It will be a walk for Max,” said the Briton.
62,000 fans in the stands
Verstappen easily defended his lead at the start. The two Mercedes benefited from a tough duel between Norris and Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez, as a result of which the Mexican drove into the gravel and fell back. Hamilton was now chasing second-placed Norris, while Verstappen was able to continuously break away. When Hamilton finally got past his young compatriot on the 20th of 71 laps, Verstappen was already nine seconds behind.
Hamilton now also had free travel, but as in the previous week, the 36-year-old lost more and more ground on Verstappen, who was safely heading for his 15th Formula 1 victory and the fifth this season. After Hamilton damaged his W12, Mercedes instructed its drivers to swap places. Norris also slipped past Hamilton.
Verstappen received tremendous support from home at the Red Bull Ring. The corona restrictions in Austria have been significantly relaxed since July 1st, so the mask requirement for vaccinated, convalescent and negatively tested people has been lifted. The stands along the route were almost full as in pre-pandemic times – most of the 62,000 spectators wore orange.
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