Ferrari won a stunning Austrian Grand Prix, extraordinary in its intensity and emotion: Charles Leclerc ultimately triumphed with a race worthy of a true champion, on the home turf of rival Red Bull. It was a race filled with dramatic twists, duels, and overtaking moves. The Ferrari driver engaged in a lengthy duel with title rival Max Vertappen, overtaking him three times. And in the final laps, a throttle problem threatened to ruin the splendid race he had built up to that point.
So after Max Verstappen, who came in second, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) came in third, with a gap of over 41″, author of a conservative race and never in the thick of the fight.
Formula 1 has found the Reds again, who today could have even scored a sensational one-two, but Carlos Sainz's power unit couldn't cope and went up in flames during the 57th lap while the Spaniard was in third position chasing Verstappen.
With 11 GPs to go, Leclerc has still regained second place in the drivers' standings, 38 points behind leader Verstappen (208 against 170). Sergio Perez (who retired today after contact with Russell on the first lap) is third at -57, Sainz fourth at -75. ”
"Thanks guys, but how scary" were the first words of Leclerc, addressed via radio to their box, immediately after the finish line.a problem with the accelerator, which stuck at 20-30% power”, remaining open with obvious problems when braking, “especially in slow corners".
"What a great battle with Max," the Ferrari driver continued, "I had a great pace, I'm really happy. After the last 5 races without a podium, I wanted to show what I'm capable of. I always show myself to be positive, but it was becoming difficult..."
The other side of the Ferrari coin was the spectacular technical failure that set Sainz's engine and then his bonnet ablaze: “We will have to analyze what happened to Carlos. It's a shame for a potential double that was within our reach – admitted team principal Mattia Binotto – It means that there is still work to be done on reliability. However, we can rejoice for the second victory in a row which gives us hope for the continuation of the world championship.“. Even though he missed out on a fourth win for Red Bull since he has been at the wheel of the Austrian brand, Verstappen still appeared quite satisfied: “AWe struggled with the balance and grip, both front and rear and with both compounds – explained the Dutchman, cheered by the 50 thousand compatriots in the stands – Second place is therefore precious, we made the most of a bad day. Ferrari? It didn't surprise me, it was also fast on Saturday".
EDITORIAL TEAM
Choose the social channel you want to subscribe to