© Getty Images2024 Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday ReportLate drama at the Red Bull Ring
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Max
Checo
The race between Max and chief rival, Norris, was at a slow burn for most of the afternoon, with the champion converting a good start from pole into a comfortable lead as the race entered its final third. But tyre wear and a slow pit stop erased Max’s eight-second advantage and in the closing stages the smouldering contest flared into a wildfire battle that, on lap 64, consumed both drivers’ races.
After several failed attempts to muscle his way past on the inside at Turn 3, Norris went for broke around the outside and the rivals collided. Punctures sent both limping back to the pits where Norris retired while Max was repaired and sent back to an eventual fifth place.
The incident left the door open for Mercedes’ George Russell to take an unexpected win ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
At the race start, Max made a perfect getaway to power away into the lead ahead of Norris who was forced to defend hard against a challenge from Russell and Ferrari’s fourth-placed Sainz. The Briton managed to hold off both and Russell took up third.
At the front, Max began to eke out a gap to Norris with Sainz eventually getting clear of Hamilton to hold fourth
Checo and Piastri were also racing hard and, having drawn close to the Mexican under DRS at the start of lap 7, the Australian pounced in Turn 6 to muscle his way around the outside to drop Checo back to seventh.
Max, meanwhile, was settling nicely into his opening stint and then on lap 14 the champion had built up a five-second gap to Norris, who was a little under four seconds clear of Russell.
On lap 22 Hamilton and Checo were the first of the frontrunners to pit and both moved to Hard tyres. Russell and Sainz made their way in at the end of the following tour and then, on lap 24, Max made his first stop, moving to Hard tyres in a 2.7s stop. Norris also came in on the same lap and when Piastri finally made his first tyre switch on lap 26, Max returned to lead 6.7s ahead Norris with Russell two seconds further back in third. Sainz still held fourth ahead of Hamilton.
Piastri emerged from his pit stop in sixth place and Checo soon moved back seventh place after briefly sitting behind Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg following his tyre switch. However, the Mexican was then handed a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane during his first stop.
Fighting It Out© Getty Images
Midway through his second stint, Max had a seemingly comfortable eight-second advantage over Norris with Russell another seven seconds back in third. However, on lap 40 the Dutchman was on the radio reporting that his Hard tyres suddenly felt “really bad” and over the following laps Norris began to chip away at the gap. By lap 46 Max’s advantage was down to a little over 6.5s and when the race leader was halted in pit lane for over six seconds by a stuck rear left wheel during his second stop. It was suddenly game on with Norris who was just 1.7s off the lead after the second round of stops.
With both negotiating traffic, Norris was able to haul his way into DRS range of the champion, and on lap 55 the McLaren driver attacked into Turn 3. Max reacted to the move and defended well to hold the lead but three laps later the McLaren driver tried again.
This time, though, Norris’ lunge down the inside resulted in a lock up and he went off track on the outside. Moments earlier the McLaren driver had been shown a black and white flag for track limits and the extra off was then put under investigation by the stewards.
But before the decision of a five-second penalty for track limits was delivered, Norris was on the attack again and on lap 64 the McLaren driver made his fateful move.
With his left rear tyre working itself off the rim Max tried to recover from the collision, limping towards the pits and then sending Norris onto the grass on the right as the McLaren tried to pass. Norris’ rear right tyre then let go. With his destroyed tyre slapping at the rear of his car, Norris was forced to retire from the race, but with a new set of Softs on board Max was sent back out and as the VSC was deployed he emerged in P5.
The dramatic incident handed the lead to Russell, ahead of Piastri who had managed to pass Sainz, with Hamilton in fourth and moment after a flurry of final laps, the Mercedes driver took his second career grand prix win.
Further back, Max held on to fifth behind Hamilton, despite being handed a 10-second penalty for causing the collision with Norris. Nico Hülkenberg took Haas’ best finish of the season so far after managing to keep Checo at bay on the final lap and the Minister was left with seventh place ahead of the second Haas of Kevin Magnussen, VCABR’s Daniel Ricciardo and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly who took the final point on offer.
Max's Busted Wheel© Getty Images
Race Report Copy
Rank | Driver | Team | Gap | Points | 1 | George Russell | Mercedes | -- | 25 |
2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +1.906 | 18 |
3 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +4.533 | 15 |
4 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +23.142 | 12 |
5 | Max Verstappen | Oracle Red Bull Racing | +37.253 | 10 |
6 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +54.088 | 8 |
7 | | Oracle Red Bull Racing | +54.672 | 6 |
8 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +60.355 | 4 |
9 | Daniel Ricciardo | Visa Cash App RB | +61.169 | 2 |
10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +61.766 | 1 |
A Sea Of Orange© Getty Images