Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc won the Austrian Grand Prix followed by Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in P2 and P4 respectively
Charles Leclerc gives up nothing in the final stages, Verstappen never getting close enough to mount an attack. The Monegasque driver won his first grand prix from outside pole! Hamilton followed Verstappen across the line for his third consecutive podium.
We have the live reactions after the race. Race winner first up – “It was a really good race. The pace was there. At the beginning we had some good fights with Max and the end was incredibly difficult. I had this issue with the throttle. It would get stuck at 20 or 30% throttle at the low speeds, so it was very tricky. We managed to make it stick until the end and I am so happy”, says Leclerc.
“I definitely needed that one. The last five races have been incredibly difficult for myself and for the team. To finally show that we have the pace in the car and we can do it is incredible. We need to push until the end”, he further adds with a huge sigh of relief.
The most dramatic moment came on lap 57 in the other Ferrari, when Carlos Sainz suffered an engine blowout. He parked up in the gravel as flames started to billow out of the back. Thankfully, Sainz managed to clamber out and ran to safety, sitting on the side contemplating both his ill luck and his happy deliverance.
Meanwhile, Verstappen started in pole position after winning the sprint race on Saturday, but Leclerc was after him like a greyhound chasing a rabbit. The Monegasque tried to make an overtake stick on lap 10, but the world champion resisted. Two laps later, though, Leclerc darted down the inside of the right-hand Turn 4 and he was gone
Leclerc went on to win, 1.5sec ahead of Verstappen with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton third – 41sec off the winner – for the second consecutive week. He went to the podium via eighth on the grid.
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