Max Verstappen dominated the Austrian Grand Prix after seeing off an early strategic challenge from Charles Leclerc.
The Red Bull driver got away easily from pole, and after swatting away a pass attempt from Leclerc around the outside of Turn 3 and then Turn 4, Verstappen set about building a comfortable lead.
Leclerc’s biggest challenge quickly became holding off Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, who radioed his team several times to suggest he be allowed to fight for second place, though he was rebuffed on each occasion.
The race settled into a rhythm among the top three, with Ferrari slipping gradually away from the lead, but the afternoon broke open on lap 14 when Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas car stopped at the exit of Turn 3 with smoke spewing from beneath the engine cover.
A virtual safety car was triggered, and Ferrari called both cars into the pits for fresh mediums to capitalize on the reduced pace. It worked wonderfully for Leclerc, who guaranteed his place inside Verstappen’s pit stop window at the first tires changes.
Sainz fared less well, however, dropping to sixth thanks to the double-stack delay. It took him six laps to rise back to third, but by then he’d lost five seconds to his teammate and was effectively out of the lead battle.
Verstappen bit the bullet on lap 24, pitting for a fresh set of hards and rejoining immediately behind Sainz, He made short work of the Spaniard and set about the hunt for Leclerc. The harder compound meant the chase was long, but by lap 35 he was back in the lead with a straightforward DRS move into Turn 3.
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Both Ferrari and Red Bull Racing considered converting their drivers to one-stop tactics in an attempt to snooker the other into an unfavorable strategy, but degradation was proving too high on a warm and generally sunny Sunday for either to seriously attempt it.
Ferrari, historically far worse on tire wear this season, was the first to blink, bringing in Leclerc on lap 47 for fresh hards. From more than 14 seconds in the lead, Verstappen covered him easily and powered to an unassailable lead.
The Dutchman was more than 23s ahead of the back with two laps to go, and to underline his supremacy at Red Bull Racing’s home race he was brought into pit lane for a fresh set of softs with which he set the fastest lap of the race.
Verstappen credited his dominance to sticking to his pre-race strategy when the Ferrari drivers responded to the VSC period.
“I think that worked out really well,” he said. “Tire life was not that high around here and our stints were perfect.
“I could see already a few laps before the virtual safety car came out that we were pulling out quite a gap, so I knew I would get them back eventually. Great day. I enjoyed it a lot.”
The victory extended his championship advantage to 81 points, more than three clear race victories.
Leclerc was a comfortable second, more than 12s ahead of the rest of the pack in a much-improved showing after his difficulties in slippery conditions during the Saturday sprint.
It was a big tick for Ferrari’s upgrade package relative to fellow front-runners Mercedes and Aston Martin, though the gap to Red Bull Racing remains large.
“It’s good to be back on the podium,” Leclerc said of his first rostrum appearance since Azerbaijan in April. “The upgrades that we brought on the car made me feel a bit better in those conditions, which is good for the future. But obviously there’s still a lot of work to do because Max and Checo [Perez] too had a lot of pace.”
Indeed, Sergio Perez recovered from 15th to third in a storming recovery drive that restored some much-needed confidence following a downturn in form. The Mexican used his car’s significant DRS advantage and two opening stints on medium tires to rise through the field with a ruthlessness he’s been lacking for months. The Mexican’s final stop had him rejoin fifth, and after easily passing Lando Norris, he engaged in a titanic battle with Sainz for a spot on the podium.
For four laps the duo sparred from Turn 3 down to Turn 6. Perez complained Sainz was moving in the braking zone, while the Spaniard accused his rival of “intimidating” movements on the brakes.
LAP 61/71
📻: "HE'S INTIMIDATING ME"
Sainz gets onto the radio about Perez's tactics#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/xCpMiBC5iZ
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 2, 2023
Eventually Perez broke Sainz’s defense by allowing him to lead into Turn 3, ensuring he could use DRS on the run down to Turn 4 for an easy pass. With Leclerc too far up the road to catch, Perez was forced to accept third, his best finish the Miami Grand Prix in May.
“I’m really happy,” he said. “It’s been a bit of a rough patch for me. Now hopefully we are back and we can keep the consistency.”
Norris finished an excellent fifth in a strong showing for his upgraded McLaren. The Briton used DRS to stick with the Ferrari drivers early in the race but ultimately had the pace to head Aston Martin and Mercedes on merit, beating Fernando Alonso to the place by four seconds.
Lewis Hamilton was a deeply dispirited seventh in a Mercedes he repeatedly complained about over team radio, prompting team principal Toto Wolff to intervene to ask him to focus.
Teammate George Russell followed ahead of Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll completing the point-scoring places.
