Charles Leclerc is a winner for the first time in three months after dominating the race on Red Bull’s home turf at the Austrian Grand Prix. Featuring Scott Mitchell from The Race.
Fernando Alonso has the greatest race of his career, while Charles Leclerc also partakes in the grand prix.
Charles Leclerc scored a crucial victory over Max Verstappen at the Austrian Grand Prix to spark new life in his title campaign.
Ferrari enjoyed a dominant afternoon and was on track for a decisive one-two finish, but Carlos Sainz retired with a spectacularly exploding power unit 11 laps from the finish.
Sainz’s fiery retirement came as he attempted to pass Verstappen for second place and secure the team a much-needed reprieve from a run of bumbling performances. Instead his burnt-out wreckage in the run-off zone at Turn 4 triggered a virtual safety car that enlivened what had looked like a commanding Leclerc victory.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen dominated the Austria sprint race ahead of the squabbling Ferrari drivers to inch open his world championship lead.
Verstappen got away cleanly from the line, while Carlos Sainz followed him into the first corner from third on the grid, jumping teammate Charles Leclerc, who started on the front row.
The Spaniard attempted to challenge the Dutchman into Turn 3 but went deep, and Leclerc took his opportunity to cut down his inside and get the better exit. The Monegasque was later on the brakes on the inside of Turn 4 and took the place back, demoting his teammate to third.
Continue reading on RACERCarlos Sainz narrowly edged Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc to top final practice at the Austrian Grand Prix. The Spaniard’s fastest lap, a 1m08.610s, was just 0.05s quicker than Leclerc’s best effort, both on the soft tires. Pole-getter for today’s sprint, Max Verstappen was third and 0.168s off the pace.
The Ferrari teammates were among the most prolific lap-setting teams despite the fundamentally dead-rubber nature of the hour run under parc ferme conditions, accumulating 82 laps between them, or more than a race distance in total.
Verstappen’s session was somewhat more subdued, the Dutchman completing only 32 laps mostly on medium tires, on which his quickest time was set. He broke out a used set of softs at the end of the hour but got caught in traffic and opted against pursuing a flying lap.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen will start the Austrian Grand Prix sprint race from pole after pipping Charles Leclerc to top spot by just 0.029s. British Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz qualified third and just 0.082s off the pace.
Verstappen left his best until last. Not only was the Red Bull driver one of the last across the line, but his first two sectors weren’t improvements on his previous laps, with the fine difference all coming at the final split.
“At the end it was a very tight qualifying,” he said. “It’s a very challenging track as well to get everything right.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen led a disrupted first practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix ahead of qualifying later today.
Verstappen looked comfortable at the head of the field for much of the crucial hour and ended his program 0.255s quicker than Charles Leclerc, with a best lap of 1m 6.302s. But no driver squeezed their complete programs into the 60-minute session thanks to two red flags that interrupted running.
The first was for Lando Norris, who parked his McLaren at the side of the road after reporting smoke emanating from beneath his seat, ending his session.
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