Verstappen keeps race after Leclerc slams late attack

Stewards take more than three hours to clear win Runner-up says Dutch driver’s move is ‘not fair’

Max Verstappen was declared the winner of the Austrian Grand Prix – three hours and 20 minutes after his remarkable drive to victory at the Red Bull Ring.

With the sun setting in the Styrian mountains, Verstappen’s fate dramatically hung in the balance as the stewards determined whether he had rammed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc off the road in his move for victory with two laps to go.

Verstappen dived underneath Leclerc at the right-handed third bend, before the pair banged wheels and Leclerc fell off the track.

“What the hell was that?” the young Monegasque barked over the radio.

Verstappen protested his innocence. “If those things are not allowed in racing, then what is the point in Formula One?” he said.

After hearing from both drivers and reviewing video evidence of the incident, the stewards took no further action against Verstappen and, in doing so, avoided a potential riot among the Dutch fans who had roared their man to the line.

“We did not consider that either driver was wholly or predominantly to blame,” read a statement from governing body the FIA. “It was a racing incident.”

Their verdict denied Leclerc the first win of his career. Valtteri Bottas finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. Lewis Hamilton crossed the line fifth on an off-colour weekend for the world champion and Mercedes, the all-conquering team.

Team principal Mattia Binotto announced that Ferrari would not appeal against the decision. Ten yards along the paddock, a beaming Red Bull team principal Christian Horner could not hide his delight.

“It would have been incomprehensible to have changed the podium,” he said.

“It was tough racing, but Max was slightly ahead of Charles, he got to the apex first, and then it was checkmate.

“This was just the tonic F1 needed after last week. These are two guys of the future. We need drivers going wheel-to-wheel and fighting with each other.”

Indeed, after seven days of soulsearching following a turgid grand prix in France, Formula One burst back into life with the race of the season so far.

Verstappen’s hopes of the first non-mercedes victory of the year appeared to be over after a matter of yards. From second on the grid,

‘This is just what F1 needed, two drivers going wheel-towheel and fighting with each other’

the Dutchman staggered off the start-line, falling to seventh.

Yet the 21-year-old, arguably the sport’s top pound-for-pound performer over the past 12 months, never gave up hope. He stopped for tyres later than his rivals and, on fresher rubber, picked off the opposition with overwhelming ease.

Verstappen batted away Vettel on lap 50. He soared past Bottas five laps later. Leclerc was five seconds up the road and, with 15 laps to run, the implausible suddenly seemed probable.

With Vettel and Hamilton out of the equation, Formula One feasted on a battle of its next generation as Top of the world: Max Verstappen celebrates his thrilling triumph the two 21-year-olds went toe-totoe for the win.

On lap 68, Verstappen looked to have got the job done, passing Leclerc on the entry to turn three, only to see the Ferrari driver blast back past.

A lap later, Verstappen tried again, braking deeper, affording Leclerc little-to-no room.

An investigation was under way before Verstappen had taken off his helmet to celebrate the sixth win of his career.

Reflecting on his move, Verstappen said: “It is better than following. That is boring.”

Leclerc responded: “I will let the stewards decide. I did the same as the previous lap so I didn’t expect contact. I don’t think that the second move was fair. The end would have been the same, but it is not the way you overtake.”

The result stood though, and, as Leclerc’s wait for his first victory continued, Ferrari’s winless run extended to 12 races.

British teenager Lando Norris was sixth for Mclaren, equalling his career-best finish. Verstappen’s under-fire French team-mate, Pierre Gasly, was seventh.

Carlos Sainz made it a good day for Mclaren with an excellent drive from the back of the grid following engine penalties to take eighth, while Alfa Romeo had a doublepoints finish with Kimi Raikkonen ninth and Antonio Giovinazzi 10th. The point was the Italian’s first in Formula One.

Now attention will switch to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, whose future has once again been called into question because of difficult contract negotiations.

Mercedes will start as favourites on Sunday week at a circuit where Hamilton will be cheered on by a crowd which is expected to approach 140,000.