Whatever the Dutch fans dreamed of when tens of thousands left their home country in the middle of the week to take their tents and caravans across to Austria to the green meadows around Spielberg: what they then had to experience was certainly not one of them. On Sunday they were stunned to see how their hero Max Verstappen was overtaken three times by Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari. After the start. And then after two pit stops, in which Verstappen took the lead again for a short time.
And when the championship leader Verstappen crossed the finish line in second place after 71 very sobering laps, he was even lucky that he hadn’t been overtaken by the second racer from Maranello. Because the black horses were once again overwhelmed by a technical disaster in Spielberg – as so often this season.
With 13 laps to go, third-placed Carlos Sainz had just set the fastest lap when the engine in his company car dramatically stalled. At first, small flames erupted from its stern, but these quickly grew larger. The Ferrari coasted and tried in vain to come to rest on a slight incline. Sainz would have liked to have fled to safety from the ever-increasing fire, but he still had to keep one foot on the brake. Only when a marshal placed a wedge behind a tire did Sainz jump out of the car. Stunned, probably more because of the points given away than because of the fire, he shook his head.
Carlos Sainz’s car after the defect.
(Photo: IMAGO/Andy Hone/IMAGO/Motorsport Images)
It got tight again at the top because Leclerc complained about problems with his accelerator pedal and slowed down more and more. He later explained that he “felt only 20 to 30 percent gas at times”. But he just dragged himself across the finish line in front of Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. The Dutchman retains the lead in the overall standings by 38 points, but Leclerc moved up to second place with his third win of the season and displaced the second Red Bull driver Sergio Perez.
And Mick Schumacher? Showed a spotless race, overtook Hamilton and his teammates, raced to sixth place for the first time, and thus collected championship points in the second Grand Prix in a row. And was also voted driver of the day. “Fantastic race, I’m happy for you and the team,” said team boss Günther Steiner, who had often criticized him very harshly. “We’re on a roll,” emphasized Schumacher: “We’re completely satisfied with today.” However, he would still prefer to fight at the very front. “But we’ll have to wait a little longer for that.” As happy as Schumacher was, Sebastian Vettel was unhappy. After poor qualifying and a poor sprint on Saturday, he only finished 17th in the race.
Playing with the rear wings is crucial in Spielberg, dancing in the so-called DRS zones. Anyone who rolls close enough to the rear of the vehicle in front can flatten their rear wing and gain a speed advantage. Schumacher complained about the lack of support from his teammate Kevin Magnussen after the sprint on Saturday, which extended the starting row of the race. Because he had stopped giving him DRS support shortly before the end, Schumacher had to let Lewis Hamilton pass, who was now allowed to roll into the race in front of him.
Verstappen parked in front of the two Ferraris, followed by George Russell in the Silver Arrow and Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull. The lights went out in Spielberg. And this time the two red racers did without the team-internal duel that they had staged to the amusement of the Red Bull team on Saturday, when they preferred to torment each other than fight Verstappen together. This time the Ferraris got their racing cars safely around the first corners. But Perez attacked Russell at turn four, made contact, spun in the gravel trap and had to pit. Russel later received a five-second penalty, which he served during the pit stop.
Starting from pole position, Verstappen pursued the strategy in the sprint on Saturday to pull away as quickly as possible so that the following Leclerc would not enjoy the advantage of the DRS. But he couldn’t do that on Sunday. This time Leclerc immediately kept himself in his rear-view mirror, filling the frame. “That came as a bit of a surprise to us, after we were so superior beforehand,” puzzled Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport consultant. Leclerc attacked for the first time on the tenth lap, and Verstappen spread. Two laps later, he tried again at turn four, where Russell and Perez had made contact. And he was already over, taking the lead.
In excellent shape: Mick Schumacher, here in front of Max Verstappen.
(Photo: Zak Mauger/IMAGO/Motorsport Images)
Schumacher, who moved up from ninth to eighth on the grid after Perez slipped, dared to attack Hamilton in the first turn and had to roll into the run-off zone. But he continued to stay in the rear of the seven-time world champion. And after five laps he actually made it past him. “Your speed on the straights is insane,” Hamilton radioed to his team. He meant those of the two Haas who had driven him to despair during the sprint the day before.
Verstappen was the first driver from the leading group to pit. To the horror of the thousands of Dutch spectators in the stands, he handed the lead to the two Ferraris without a fight. Further back, Schumacher had to bow to pressure from Hamilton, who passed the German again on lap 15. The Haas drove to the pits and sorted themselves further back. And Schumacher showed the next excellent overtaking maneuvers in his 32nd Formula 1 race. He grabbed Daniel Ricciardo – and then a wild quartet formed in midfield around Magnussen, Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris and Schumacher. Both Haas made it past and placed sixth and seventh. And Schumacher also left his teammate behind.
After 27 laps, the first Ferrari headed for its supply lane. Leclerc was quickly dispatched and then dropped back to third behind Verstappen. Then Sainz came into the pits and a little later Hamilton. And the new order at the top, after all drivers had stopped once, was like after the start: Verstappen led the race, followed by Leclerc and Sainz.
But the power of the Ferraris, at least in the car in which they didn’t start to burn, could not be opposed on this Sunday. After 33 laps, Leclerc overtook Verstappen for the second time that day. It was crazy, the Dutchman complained on the radio. “One lap I have grip on the front wheels, the next I don’t.” Before Sainz overtook him shortly afterwards, Verstappen preferred to roll quickly for the second tire change of the day. And then the game repeated itself again: Both Ferraris stopped for fresh tires and fell behind Verstappen again, but were faster.
With 18 laps to go, Leclerc passed for the third time that day. And shortly thereafter, the engine in Carlos Sainz’s car exploded.