Verstappen wins Austrian GPrix, extends lead over rival Hamilton
Bottas finishes 2nd, Norris settles for 3rd
SPIELBERG, Austria, July 4, (AP): Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen won the Austrian Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday, clinching a third straight victory and extending his lead over title rival Lewis Hamilton to 32 points after nine races.
It was Verstappen’s fifth win of the season compared to three for Hamilton,
who dropped down from second place to fourth late on after going too wide on a turn and rolling over a kerb, damaging one of his tires.
Disappointment for Hamilton, who has not won for two months, elation for the Dutchman Verstappen in front of his adoring orange-shirted fans after another clinical drive.
“I’m a bit amazed myself how today went,” the 23-year-old said. “The car was on rails. It was really enjoyable to drive.”
Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas finished second ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, who clinched the fourth podium of his career on the same track where he secured his first last year.
The 2020 top-three finish made him the youngest British driver on a podium and third-youngest overall behind
Lance Stroll and Verstappen. The ultra-consistent Norris is the only driver to have scored points in every race this season.
He could have finished second but was given a 5-second time penalty for an incident with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez on Lap 1.
“It was exciting. I’m disappointed because we should have been in second place,” Norris said. “We had good pace. It’s nice to know that we can be there and can race. Hopefully we can keep it up next time.”
Hamilton has not won since the Spanish GP on May 9, a dismal streak of five races for the defending champion seeking a record eighth F1 title. All of those have gone to Red Bull, with Perez taking the other.
This was another crushing success for Verstappen at the Red Bull ring, his team’s home track and with thousands of Dutch fans cheering on his 15th career win. He also won here last weekend at the Styrian GP.
“Even better than last week,” Verstappen said. “The car was unreal.”
Verstappen clinched his third straight pole on Saturday and got away cleanly again for another lights-to-flag win, the way Hamilton has so often done.
A great day for him and his adoring fans was completed by a bonus point for the fastest lap.