3 p.m. in Spielberg, the Austrian Grand Prix will soon give its verdict: the cars leave one by one for the formation lap. The sun shines on the Red Bull Ring.
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The Grand Prix process
Max Verstappen takes off perfectly, Lando Norris almost gets stuck… George Russell tries to take advantage, but finally gets behind the McLaren… Lewis Hamilton takes the lead on the outside of the first corner over Carlos Sainz! While Charles Leclerc is sandwiched by Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez. He damaged his front wing and has to return to the pits at the end of the first lap. Very bad start for the Ferraris. Max Verstappen gradually pulls away.
5 laps after the start, Oscar Piastri overtook Sergio Perez on the outside at turn 6! What a move by the Australian driver! He almost made a fool of the Red Bull driver even though the latter had pushed him into the gravel beforehand. Carlos Sainz recovered his position from Lewis Hamilton on lap 6.
Charles Leclerc is suffering…He is even overtaken by Alexander Albon and his Williams! Certainly the Thai also has new tires but the Monegasque cannot do it with his hard tires… He enters the pits a second time to put on the mediums. It’s been a few Grand Prix that these hard tires have not performed well. But many drivers stop and put them on during their first stop. The strategy adopted is that of 2 stops.
An avalanche of penalties
Max Verstappen returns, just like Lando Norris… As he leaves, the Red Bull driver almost hits the arriving McLaren! Lando Norris blocked his tires. The world champion’s departure from the stands is under investigation by the stewards.
For his part, Lewis Hamilton has just been penalized with a 5-second penalty for crossing the white line at the entrance to the pits. Fernando Alonso follows Hamilton’s bad example and also takes a penalty: 10 seconds for pushing Zhou off the track at turn 3. Finally, Max Verstappen will not be penalized. Alexander Albon is penalized for the same reason as Lewis Hamilton.
Gasly, Ocon and… Alonso in the fight
The 2 Alpine drivers find themselves in 12th and 13th place. Pierre Gasly is just behind Esteban Ocon now. It’s hot between the French drivers! Halfway through the race, Gasly was tempted to dive at the turn 3 hairpin. He put pressure on his teammate via radio messages.
1 lap later, Esteban Ocon passes Fernando Alonso on the inside of turn 1. The Spaniard tries to respond to the slipstream on the climb towards the hairpin… Esteban Occon moves out under braking and Pierre Gasly takes advantage! Nestled in the exhausts of the 2 drivers, he takes the advantage on the outside. Esteban Ocon brings a lot of speed and passes in front again on the inside of the hairpin by forcing the trajectory… Pierre Gasly complains about it on the radio. Fernando Alonso has given up on the matter.
On the 41st lap of the race, a new battle: Gasly passes to the outside of turn 6 after another muscular battle. He stops a few laps later. Esteban Ocon imitates him but his teammate is now taking off.
Verstappen-Norris battle for victory
At the head of the race, Max Vesrtappen stabilizes the gap with Lando Norris: 7 seconds with 20 laps to go. Oscar Piastri dives at the 3rd turn hairpin on George Russell! Another great move from the Australian. He climbs onto the provisional podium.
The leaders stop, Max Verstappen’s pit stop is long! He is forced to wait, and loses precious seconds. He then gets very scared at turn 5! He’s dead in the gravel trap, Norris is less than a second and a half away! He performs the best lap and rushes into Max Verstappen: incredible! The Red Bull driver seemed untouchable. The McLaren has DRS. He tries outside the hairpin but Verstappen shifts and defends. The latter complains on the radio, he has no grip.
The inevitable is happening!
The McLaren passes the inside of the corner at the top of the climb! But he locks the wheels and ends up off the track… He lets Max Verstappen pass to avoid a penalty. Lando Norris is under threat of a sanction and receives a third warning following the maneuver… probably synonymous with a penalty.
The battle continues! Lando Norris keeps going back there. For now, Dutch is still holding on… until when? Lando Norris returns there and the 2 drivers hang on! Both drivers had flat tires! That’s crazy. They both return to the pits… George Russell is the new leader!
George Russell nouveau leader !
Oscar Pisatri overtakes Carlos Sainz. He is less than 3 seconds behind George Russell, the new leader with 5 laps to go! The virtual safety car is deployed, there is debris on the track. The McLaren driver is cut off in his tracks. Max Verstappen is deemed responsible for the collision and receives a 10-second penalty. Lando Norris has lost everything and is forced to retire.
Mercedes and George Russell win the Austrian Grand Prix! What an incredible race and what battles throughout the Grand Prix! Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz complete the podium. Max Verstappen finishes 5th. Pierre Gasly recovers 1 point and finishes 10th.
