F1 Austrian GP: Max Verstappen overtakes Charles Leclerc for fifth straight win
Max Verstappen passed Charles Leclerc on his way to claiming another convincing victory at the Austrian Grand Prix to further underline his supremacy at the top of the F1 championship.
The reigning world champion had to overtake Leclerc on track to seal his fifth win at the Red Bull Ring after his team opted for an alternative strategy to Ferrari, who pitted both their drivers under an early Virtual Safety Car.
Verstappen chased down Leclerc before pulling off a late lunge into Turn 3 on Lap 35.
Such was Verstappen's dominance, the Dutchman had enough of a buffer to pit on the penultimate lap for softs and snatch the fastest lap for a maximum points haul to cap off his seventh victory from nine races this season.
Leclerc, unable to replicate his triumph last year in Austria - which remains Ferrari's last win - had to settle with a distant second place.
Sergio Perez recovered from a nightmarish qualifying to beat Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari in a brilliant battle for the final spot on the podium.
Having impressively risen from 15th on the grid, Perez eventually got past a stubborn Sainz with 10 laps remaining, before pulling clear in his Red Bull.
Lando Norris took a strong fifth in his upgraded McLaren, ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Lewis Hamilton was frustrated by a track limits penalty as he could only manage seventh ahead of teammate George Russell on a difficult day for Mercedes.
Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll completed the points-scoring positions in ninth and 10th for Alpine and Aston Martin respectively.
