The weekends follow one another and look alike for Max Verstappen. The Dutch Red Bull driver won his fifth consecutive victory of the season on Sunday July 2 on the Austrian Grand Prix circuit. Winner of seven of the nine races contested since the start of the season, the Dutch world champion has further increased his comfortable lead in the drivers’ standings.
On the grounds of the Red Bull team, adversity never seemed able to worry the figurehead of the red bull team. Second, Monegasque Charles Leclerc posted Ferrari’s best result of the season, and Max Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Pérez completed the podium, after climbing from 15th to 3rd place during the race at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.
Already a clear leader before the weekend, the Dutchman Verstappen, two-time defending champion, leaves the mountains of Styria with a stratospheric lead of 81 points over his closest rival, his team-mate Pérez. At 25, “Mad Max”, winner for the 42nd time in formula 1, is heading more than ever towards a third world title in a row. “I don’t want to think about that, I’m just focusing on working with the team and we’ve been working well all weekend so I’m just happy and can’t wait to be at Silverstone” at the Grand Prix of Great Britain, Sunday July 9, reacted hotly the winner.
The Dutch driver became, on Sunday, the record holder for victories at the Austrian Grand Prix, with four successes, ahead of the Frenchman Alain Prost. Verstappen even signed his fifth victory on this circuit, since in 2021, the Grand Prix of Styria had been disputed there – due to calendar changes linked to the Covid-19 pandemic – and had seen the Red Bull driver to take with.
For Ferrari, in great difficulty this season, this Grand Prix is ??still a breath of fresh air. The Scuderia could even have achieved a double podium if Pérez had not returned to Carlos Sainz (4th). “It feels good to be back on the podium,” smiled Charles Leclerc, who hadn’t tasted it since April 30 in Baku. We optimized what we had in our hands (…), it’s a good thing for the future, the team really did a magnificent job of bringing changes faster than expected. »
Behind Sainz, Lando Norris (McLaren) finished 5th ahead of the two legends Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes). As for the French from Alpine, Pierre Gasly, who started in ninth position, finished in the same place, as did Esteban Ocon, 12th on the grid as at the finish.
