Max Verstappen makes it four consecutive wins for the Red Bull team, as the Dutchman triumphs in the Styrian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas complete the podium with the two Mercedes cars.
Max Verstappen – 10
His weekend was one of a kind. Verstappen was perfect from Friday onwards, always delivering when it mattered.
He put the car on pole, had the perfect start and flew away with the win.
His pace was extremely quick and nobody could come close to his tail.
Lewis Hamilton – 8.5
Not quite a flawless performance from Hamilton, but it’s quite clear that Red Bull do have some sort of advantage right now, at least with Verstappen at the wheel.
Hamilton was beaten by Bottas in qualifying, but his teammate’s penalty lifted him to second.
He tried all he could to challenge for the win, but settled for 19 points, still distancing Bottas and Sergio Perez.
Embed from Getty ImagesValtteri Bottas – 6.5
Bottas begun the weekend with a comical spin out of the pits that cost him three places on the grid for Sunday.
It was a shame, given he then went on to outqualify Hamilton, but started from fifth.
He followed Perez and went past once the Red Bull crew made a rare mistake at the stop, but the gap from the front duo was huge.
Sergio Perez – 6.5
His race was set to fend off Bottas, but an unfortunate pit stop error was what made the difference, allowing the Finn through.
Perez was never in contention for the win after he spent many laps behind Lando Norris.
He failed to outqualify the McLaren on Saturday, even though the pace of the car allowed Verstappen to get a pole position.
Lando Norris – 9.5
Superb performance from Norris, who broke away from the rest of the midfield and even collected a second row start.
The Brit kept his top form going, finally adding a great qualifying to a solid race, which keeps him in the top four of the drivers’ championship.
Embed from Getty ImagesCarlos Sainz – 8
Carlos Sainz’s weekend seemed to get downhill as he was knocked out in Q2.
However, an extended first stint allowed the Ferrari to show all its pace and overcut multiple cars.
Sainz, therefore, stopped late and emerged in a position which showed that the Ferrari was quite quick in Austria.
Charles Leclerc – 7
Considering the grid slot and the pace he showed, it was a missed opportunity for Charles Leclerc.
The Monegasque collided with Pierre Gasly on the opening lap, forcing him to an extra stop to change his front wing.
The pace was strong and Leclerc was very active with many overtakes to come back with P7, but maybe there was potential to do more.
Embed from Getty ImagesLance Stroll – 7.5
A solid drive from Lance Stroll, who finally put his qualifying troubles behind and was off to a quick start.
The Aston Martin driver occupied P6 until his stop but was then overtaken by the two Ferraris on different strategy.
The Italian car’s pace suggests that it would have been hard to defend anyway and Stroll still got four points in the bag.
Fernando Alonso – 7.5
Fernando Alonso seems to finally get into grips with his car.
If, for a period, it was Esteban Ocon who extracted the most out of the car, now the Spaniard appears to have taken that role.
Alonso entered Q3 for the third consecutive race and had a trouble-free run to the flag, once again finishing in the points a good way ahead of Ocon.
Embed from Getty ImagesYuki Tsunoda – 6
The Japanese driver kept out of trouble in the Styrian GP and gained a single point.
Once again, Gasly appeared much quicker, but this time Yuki Tsunoda at least got something out of his weekend.
Kimi Raikkonen – 6.5
The Finn came very short of a points finish, only arriving to the flag a few seconds adrift of Tsunoda.
He made his usual comeback in the race, after what was another disappointing qualifying.
His Saturday shows are currently limiting the performances of the Alfa Romeo, who seems a decent car in the hands of Kimi Raikkonen when it comes to the race.
Sebastian Vettel – 5
A disappointing weekend for the German, who was coming off a recent period of strong results.
He exited qualifying in Q2 and failed to excel during the race, occupying a top 10 place for a span of time, before losing out in the second stint.
Daniel Ricciardo – 5
Bad luck hit him, as a power issue caused him to drop from P9 to P13.
He made a good start prior to that, but was fighting for places far away from where teammate Norris was.
The issue ruined his race and the strategy failed to work, as Daniel Ricciardo had to settle for P13.
Embed from Getty ImagesEsteban Ocon – 4.5
Ocon’s form is very interesting. At times he hits periods of prosperity, whilst on the other half of the races he is a completely different driver, in a negative way.
Once again, he disappointed in qualifying and in the race, starting down the order and never really appearing as to challenge for points.
Antonio Giovinazzi – 6
He was a passenger on lap one, as Gasly’s punctured car hit him and caused him to spin.
His race was ruined from then on, as he stopped quite early to make up for it, but dropped back when running as high as 12th towards the end.
Considering he qualified better than Raikkonen and made a good start, it could have been possible to challenge for points.
Mick Schumacher – 6.5
The German rookie does all he has to in Styria, finishing ahead of Nikita Mazepin and Nicholas Latifi to get to the flag in P16.
He once again lost places at the start, but still managed to get the jump on Mazepin at distance.
Embed from Getty ImagesNicholas Latifi – 5
Similarly to what happened to George Russell, Nicholas Latifi’s race was also affected by issues, which lost them time at the pit stop.
He also suffered contact in the opening stages, so it never really kicked in for the Canadian.
Nikita Mazepin – 5
It was the usual weekend from Mazepin, who was often stuck in last place.
He started from P20 and got the place on Mick Schumacher at the start, before eventually being re-overtaken.
George Russell – 8.5
In the last four seasons, the Williams rarely featured so high up the order, especially on pure merit.
Russell’s weekend appeared exceptional, and the Brit started an excellent 10th, before running in P8 for more than a third of the laps.
An issue caused his race to end prematurely, as he was once again brutally denied points.
Embed from Getty ImagesPierre Gasly – 6
It’s not the first time this season that Gasly qualifies the Alpha Tauri in an excellent position, but then has some sort of issue which ruins the race.
This time, Gasly collided with Leclerc on the run after turn one.
He got a puncture which ended his race straight away, as he lost a very good opportunity.
For more Formula One content click here.
For more sports content click here.
