Max Verstappen produced another emphatic performance to complete a home win for Red Bull at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The double world champion was made to work for his seventh victory from nine rounds so far after he passed Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz on track.
But after manoeuvring himself ahead of both Ferrari drivers, Verstappen raced off into the distance to the delight of his 70,000-strong travelling army from Netherlands.
Leclerc crossed the line five seconds behind Verstappen in Spielberg, with Sergio Perez recovering from his lowly grid slot of 15th to finish third. The Mexican fought his way past Sainz with 10 laps remaining following a nip-and-tuck duel.
Sainz took fourth after he served five-second penalty for exceeding track limits.
The Spaniard was among six of the 20-strong field to be sanctioned by race director Niels Wittich, with Lewis Hamilton also punished.
Hamilton finished an underwhelming seventh, while Lando Norris ended the day in fifth to record his best result of a difficult season for his under-performing McLaren team. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished between Norris and Hamilton.
George Russell made up three places from his starting spot of 11th to finish eighth.
Verstappen heads Perez in the standings by 81 points – the equivalent of more than three victories – heading into next weekend’s British Grand Prix.
A day after taking the sprint race spoils, Verstappen was celebrating his fifth consecutive win on his unstoppable march to a hat-trick of world titles.
Verstappen fended off an aggressive Leclerc on the opening lap before he fell to third after the Ferrari drivers stopped for tyres under the Virtual Safety Car.
It ended Verstappen’s run of 249 consecutive laps at the head of the field. However, the Dutchman required just 11 laps before he was back in charge.
After he left the pits on lap 25, Verstappen moved ahead of Sainz a couple of laps later, and then fought his way past Leclerc on lap 35 of 71.
From there, the Dutchman cruised to the flag – even stopping for tyres on the penultimate lap in order to set the fastest lap and take a bonus point.
For Hamilton, the seven-time world champion endured a difficult day in his Mercedes.
Hamilton started fifth and leapfrogged Norris at the start of the race, but soon faced the wrath of the stewards for putting all four wheels of his Mercedes over the white line.
A black-and-white warning flag was served to Hamilton before he was hit with a five-second penalty on lap 17.
Sainz, Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly and Logan Sargeant were also handed five-second penalties, while Yuki Tsunoda saw his initial five-second sanction upgraded to 10 for driving off the track.
Hamilton served his penalty at his second pit stop on lap 43, dropping him to eighth place. He moved up one spot when Gasly stopped for tyres but he failed to make any impression on Aston Martin’s Alonso.
The Briton was on the radio several times asking why other drivers had not been penalised.
Team principal Toto Wolff first came on with a word of encouragement for his superstar driver.
“They are all going to get penalties in front of you, Lewis.” he said.” Keep going.”
But following another frustrated radio message from Hamilton, Wolff was back on to his driver with a firmer message.
“The car is bad, we know,” said Wolff to the Briton: “Please drive it.”
Hamilton finished 39.1 seconds behind Verstappen and is no closer to ending his 18-month losing streak in Formula One.
Hamilton lauds 'quite incredible' Ferrari form ahead of 2025 move
Lewis Hamilton said watching Ferrari and McLaren overhaul Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship has been "quite incredible" ahead of his move to the Italian team.
Red Bull appeared to be set for another dominant year on track after Max Verstappen won seven of the first 10 races, with team-mate Sergio Perez also securing four podiums.
However, Red Bull endured a mid-season struggle, with Verstappen failing to win in 10 races before his stunning wet-weather display at the Brazilian Grand Prix last time out.
The Dutchman is on the cusp of a fourth world championship after title rival Lando Norris could only manage sixth in Interlagos, leaving him 62 points behind in the standings.
But going into the final three races of the season, Red Bull find themselves third in the constructors' championship, 44 points behind leaders McLaren and 13 adrift of Ferrari.
Before Verstappen's victory in Brazil, Ferrari had claimed back-to-back victories in the United States and Mexico.
Charles Leclerc, Hamilton's team-mate for the Scuderia next season, won in Austin to emerge victorious for the eighth time in the competition.
That triumph was then followed up by a win at the Autrodromo Hermanos Rodriguez by Carlos Sainz, who will make way for Hamilton and join Williams next season.
And Ferrari's recent displays on track have Hamilton excited about the potential of challenging for an eighth world championship next season.
"I'm very interested in my future, of course," said Hamilton. "And so, in that respect, keeping an eye, yeah. Watching everything that happens."
"If you look at somewhere like maybe China already, the Red Bull was like a second ahead.
"And it's been quite incredible to see the McLaren rise and then the Ferrari in the last few races, to see their progress and just trying to keep an eye on everyone's car and what they're changing and what they're adding.
"You know, we all watch the video, all the drivers, we all watch the onboard laps and we're always trying to see where we can gain time.
"And there's some cars that just react differently and better or worse in certain areas.
"And you're trying to figure out how you can find that within either your balance or get the team to develop the car in that direction."
Hamilton could 'take a holiday' after Sao Paulo disappointment
Lewis Hamilton says he "could happily go and take a holiday" instead of finishing the season after a dismal showing at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
He made early exits in both qualifying sessions and started the race at Interlagos from 15th on the grid.
However, unlike Max Verstappen, who impressively won the race having started in 17th, the Brit struggled to mount much of a fight, coming away from the weekend with just one point after finishing in 10th.
His performance was made to look worse as team-mate George Russell had been battling for the lead but narrowly missed out on a podium place as he finished fourth.
Hamilton only has three races left with Mercedes before his move to Ferrari next season, bringing an end to their 12-year partnership.
But he was left frustrated in Brazil, expressing his disappointment with the car.
"We were just slow," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. "The car was really, really tough. I do really want to say still a big thank you to the guys in the garage. They turned up super early this morning and still did a great job throughout the weekend.
"The team could have won also, so at least one car was behaving a lot better.
"The car is like a plank of wood. It's like no suspension.
"It's bouncing on the tyres everywhere, and you can't get on the power anywhere. It's just the worst ride, I think the worst ride that we've definitely ever had, particularly through corners. It's just so stiff.
"But hopefully we won't have any more bumpy tracks. I think the last three aren't so bumpy. But yeah, I could happily go and take a holiday."
Norris claims Verstappen 'got lucky' in Brazil as title hopes fade
Lando Norris said Max Verstappen benefitted from a rule "no one agrees with" as he won a dramatic Sao Paulo Grand Prix to leave the McLaren's title hopes hanging by a thread.
Verstappen surged to a terrific victory from 17th on the grid in Brazil, with Norris faltering after starting on pole.
Norris and Mercedes' George Russell – who were vying for the lead – both pitted on lap 29, but that strategy backfired as the red flag was shown following a crash involving Franco Colapinto.
With the race suspended, Verstappen was also able to change tires for the restart, negating Norris' advantage from pitting as the world champion raced to a commanding victory.
Norris had cut Verstappen's drivers' championship lead to 44 points by winning Saturday's sprint race but now sits 62 points adrift with just three races of the season remaining.
The Brit refused to hit out at McLaren's strategy after the race, though, putting his struggles down to bad luck.
"I have faith in the team in what they are saying and they have trust in me," he told Sky Sports F1.
"It was just unlucky. I don't care about the hindsight side of things, that's luck for them, nothing more.
"They got lucky on a rule that no one agrees with. Probably they agreed with it today but every driver has disagreed with it in the past.
"Today it benefitted them, it could have benefitted us if we just stayed out, but that's a stupid thing to think of.
"Just a bit unlucky today, nothing more. Of course, disappointing. Max drove well. He got a bit lucky but that's life."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
