Red Bull's perfect 10 in Austria as Verstappen victorious
Monday, 3 July 2023
Red Bull Racing wins a team-record 10th race in succession, edging closer to an all-time record as Max Verstappen won for the fifth race in a row.
Max Verstappen won his fifth straight Grand Prix – and Red Bull Racing's 10th race in a row dating back to Abu Dhabi last year – with a pole-to-flag performance at the Formula 1® Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The reigning world champion briefly ceded the lead to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc during the first pit stop phase on lap 24 – the first time he'd been headed since lap 48 of the Miami Grand Prix after leading from start to finish in Spain, Monaco and Canada – but had enough in reserve to pit on the penultimate lap to take fastest lap and an extra world championship point, finishing 5.155secs ahead of Leclerc to take his fifth win at the Red Bull Ring, his most successful circuit.
Leclerc converted a strong second place in qualifying to his best result of the 2023 season, one year from taking Ferrari's most recent win at the same circuit, while Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez made light of a below-par qualifying to storm to third from 15th on the grid, emerging the victor in a fierce scrap with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz that was finally settled in the Mexican's favour with 10 laps remaining of the 71-lap race.
Verstappen won Saturday's 24-lap Sprint too – the second of six short-form races to be held this season – in wet conditions from Perez and Sainz, with the Red Bull drivers almost coming to blows on lap one when Perez forced Verstappen briefly onto the grass after the Dutchman made a slow getaway.
Oscar watch
It was a race to forget to Australia's Oscar Piastri in Austria, the McLaren driver finishing in 16th place after starting 13th as he battled an ill-handling car for the final two-thirds of the race.
Driving the same version of the MCL60 that he's driven all season – teammate Lando Norris debuted the team's updated machine that Piastri will take into next weekend's British Grand Prix – Piastri's hopes of a first points finish since Monaco in round six were largely extinguished when he ran into the back of Kevin Magnussen's Haas under braking at Turn 3 on lap 22, the clash necessitating an unscheduled pit stop and dropping the McLaren driver back to last place soon after.
Piastri moved ahead of Magnussen for good with three laps left, and then was promoted another place in the classification when AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda was penalised 10 seconds for repeatedly exceeding track limits.
In Saturday's Sprint, Piastri started in 17th after being impeded by Leclerc in the Sprint Shootout, and finished in 11th place.
Unsung hero
Lando Norris gave McLaren teammate Piastri reason for optimism for the races to come by finishing a season-best fourth in Austria, which came after the British driver qualified fourth for the Grand Prix and third for the Sprint, showing the heavily-revised car is a step in the right direction.
Norris – using an MCL60 updated with new sidepod inlets, halo, floor, engine cover, and cooling louvres – spent the entire race inside the top 10, a big turnaround for the team after McLaren had scored just three points combined in the previous four races.
At his most successful F1® circuit – two of his six career podiums have come at the Red Bull Ring – Norris saw off Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and kept the Ferraris honest all afternoon in Austria, finishing 26secs adrift of Verstappen and being voted as Driver of the Day by the sport's fans for his efforts.
Number to know
10: Red Bull Racing's 10th straight win broke the team's record of nine, achieved twice when Sebastian Vettel won the final nine races of the 2013 season, and again in the nine races from France to Mexico last year. McLaren holds the all-time record for consecutive victories, winning 11 Grands Prix in a row in 1988.
A sprint weekend is always very, very hectic and a lot of things can go wrong, so luckily a lot of things went right for us this weekend.
Austrian Grand Prix: top 10
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 1hr 25mins 33.607secs
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +5.155secs
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) +17.188secs
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) +26.327secs
5. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +30.317secs
6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +31.377secs
7. George Russell (Mercedes) +48.403secs
8. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +49.196secs
9. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +59.043secs
10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +67.667secs
Standings (top 5)
Drivers' championship
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 229 points
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) 148 points
3. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 131 points
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 106 points
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 82 points
Constructors' championship
1. Red Bull Racing (377 points)
2. Mercedes (178 points)
3. Aston Martin (175 points)
4. Ferrari (154 points)
5. Alpine (47 points)
Next race
Round 10: Silverstone, Great Britain (July 7-9)
