Charles Leclerc won the Austrian Grand Prix for Ferrari on Sunday, reclaiming his place as F1 world championship leader Max Verstappen’s nearest opponent.
Verstappen had to settle for second place, despite having a 38-point lead over the Monegasque after 11 of 22 rounds and earning a bonus point for best lap on top of his Saturday sprint victory.
Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion for Mercedes, finished third after starting tenth, completing the summit for the third race in a row.
“Oh my goodness. I was terrified. I was really terrified “After reaching the stage win at the Red Bull Ring with Verstappen in his mirror and one and a half seconds behind, a relieved Leclerc stated over the radio.
He passed the Dutch driver three times on the track throughout the race, but with two engine problems in the previous five laps, he felt the victory would slip through his fingers as he fought a throttle problem in the final few laps.
“It would get stuck at 20 or 30 percent throttle in low speeds, making it quite difficult. We succeeded in keeping it till the finish, and I am overjoyed “Leclerc stated.
“That was absolutely what I needed. The previous five races have been quite challenging for both me and the team. It’s wonderful to finally demonstrate that we have the speed in the vehicle and that we can accomplish it.”
SAINZ IN THE FLAMES
Carlos Sainz, Leclerc’s Spanish teammate who won for the first race at Silverstone last weekend, had already retired due to a flaming engine failure.
While chasing a possible Ferrari one-two, flames exploded from the back of the vehicle as he got off with 14 circuits to go. Sainz attempted to flee, but the automobile began rolling backwards until a marshal intervened and doused the fire.
Red Bull experienced a retirement as well, with Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez, who was second overall heading into the race, injuring his vehicle in a first lap accident with Mercedes’ George Russell and halting on lap 26.
Russell finished fourth despite receiving a five-second penalty for triggering the accident.
The victory was Leclerc’s third of the season, fifth of his career, and first since April in Australia, as well as the first time he won from a position other than pole.
It was Ferrari’s second consecutive victory, following six consecutive Red Bull victories, and the first in Austria since Michael Schumacher in 2003.
The Italians have already fallen 56 points behind Red Bull.
Verstappen had been pursuing his fourth Austrian GP victory in five years, with tens of thousands of fans cheering him on. The organisers estimate a weekend attendance of 303,000 people.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t offer them a win today,” he remarked, “but second place is still a wonderful result.”
SCHUMACHER SCORES ONCE MORE
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon finished fifth, ahead of Haas’ Mick Schumacher, who collected his maiden Formula One points at Silverstone last weekend. The German was chosen as the best driver of the day.
Lando Norris finished eighth for McLaren, ahead of Kevin Magnussen of Haas and Daniel Ricciardo of McLaren, with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso claiming the last point after starting last on the grid.
The starting grid was determined by the sprint, which Verstappen won from pole position, with Leclerc finishing second. The top eight finishers in that race received points.
Verstappen took the lead from the start on Sunday, with Leclerc close behind when Perez and Russell collided, sending the Mexican flying into the gravel.
On lap 12, Leclerc overtook the Red Bull, diving down the inside of turn four, with Sainz pushing up to second as Verstappen stopped and returned in sixth.
The lead changed hands again during the pitstops until Leclerc overtook Verstappen for the third time on cycle 53, after having pitted and being on fresher tyres.
Sainz’s engine issue caused a virtual safety car, setting up a tense finale.