From Leclerc’s disaster to the contact between Norris and Verstappen with Russell’s victory to conclude, here is the summary of the Austrian GP.
SUMMARY: The Austrian GP ends with Russell on the top step of the podium. Norris and Verstappen were in the lead when they caught each other with a few laps to go: Norris had to retire while the Dutchman finished 5th. The race was ruined at the first corner for Charles Leclerc after a contact with Piastri which made him slip to the back.
Before the start, let’s remember the positions of the top 10: Verstappen, Norris, Russell, Sainz, Hamilton, Leclerc, Piastri, Perez, Hulkenberg and Ocon.
1 – 20
With the exception of Zhou, everyone starts on the Mediums, as expected by Pirelli strategies. At the start, Max Verstappen gets off to a good start and immediately takes the lead. Things don’t go so well for Leclerc, who had contact with Piastri and had to come back to change the front wing. The other Ferrari, Sainz’s, loses the position to Hamilton. The British driver starts a fight with his teammate in a few laps, which ends with Russell in front.
Piastri with a super overtaking takes the position against Perez. In the meantime, Sainz regains his position over Hamilton who has less pace as does his teammate and manages to overtake him.
Charles Leclerc sets times that are too high on the Hard, giving an indication to others about the performance this tire brings. The Monegasque therefore decides to return to the pits and mount the Mediums.
21 – 40
Pit stops also begin in the front group, with Hamilton and Perez fitting Hards on lap 22. Russell and Sainz do the same on the following lap, with the Spaniard exiting ahead of Hamilton with a good gap. White tyres on lap 24 also for Verstappen and Norris, who come in behind Piastri. The new leader pits on lap 26, coming in behind Hamilton, holding onto Hulkenberg.
When Hamilton entered the pits he lost the car by going beyond the white line, as reported by Piastri. The British driver therefore received a 5-second penalty. Fernando Alonso also received one for a contact while overtaking. Perez also received a 5-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane. No action instead for Max Verstappen after an unsafe release on Norris.
A fight breaks out between Ocon, Gasly and Alonso, with the former prevailing over the other two. It then continues between the two Alpine teammates who put on a show for several corners, but in the end it is Gasly who gets the better of them.
Read also: F1 | Austrian GP – SUMMARY Qualifying: super Verstappen, Perez continues to disappoint
41 – 60
Charles Leclerc tries an attack on Norris to try to double himself, but he goes long and joins again. A lap later, at 47th, Russell pits to mount another train from Hard. In the next round it’s Sainz’s turn to change the Hard to the Medium.
An anomalous situation for the first two, with Verstappen leading the two lapped Haas drivers, while Leclerc and Gasly remain behind, with the Frenchman and the Monegasque starting a fight. Up front the Dutchman complains about the tyres, so on lap 51 he returns to the pits followed by Norris.
Problem in the pits for Max Verstappen, who returns with Norris less than two seconds behind. McLaren gains further because Verstappen has a blockage, and Norris starts flying.
Two laps later Hamilton returns to the pits, while Norris arrives in Verstappen’s exhaust. Some laps interrupt the action, but Norris has more pace in this phase of the race. The same goes for Sainz and Piastri, who gain on Russell to ignite a fight for the podium.
61 – 71
Lando Norris comes to overtake but goes long and has to regain the position. However, this is counted as track limits and Lando Norris receives an investigation. However, Max Verstappen’s movement during braking was not noticed. They make contact and both puncture. The readership thus passes to Russell, while the two return to the pits. Verstappen manages to get back on track, while Norris retires.
Piastri thus gains second position against Sainz, while Russell chases the victory. For the contact at the end Verstappen received a 10 second penalty, which however did not change the result given the gap the Dutchman had over Hulkenberg.
Seguici sui social: Telegram – TikTok – Instagram – Facebook – Twitter
Cover source: @mercedesAMGF1 via X
