You Can't Touch This: Verstappen Was Unstoppable in Austria

The Sprint format is gaining more and more popularity within the World Championship, so it's no surprise that the number of such races has increased for 2023. This year, the first one happened in Azerbaijan. Charles Leclerc was the fastest driver in the Sprint Shootout, but he couldn't stay ahead of Sergio Perez in the Sprint Race. The gap between them was of just 4.463 seconds.

But George Russell and Max Verstappen were just a little behind, either. Azerbaijan aside, let's talk about how the Sprint Shootout session unfolded at the Red Bull Ring. With less than 30 seconds to go before the end of Shootout 1, Lando Norris was somewhat surprisingly in the lead, with a fast lap of 1:06.723. Naturally, the fight for the top spot continued until the end of the session, and Carlos Sainz set the pace with a strong rhythm of 1:06.187.

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc barely avoided being knocked out, as he was only 0.001 seconds faster than Zhou. Lewis Hamilton wasn't so lucky, as he finished in P18, but at least Russell finished P7 and was moving on to the second session. But that would be the end of his Sprint Shootout adventure after suffering a mechanical failure. Sainz felt confident about finishing on top of the leaderboard in Shootout 2, but Verstappen denied him that honor, outpacing the Spaniard by 0.063 seconds.

On the last outing before the main event on Saturday, the Flying Dutchman showed everyone why he's leading the championship with a fast lap of 1:04.613. No other driver could come close to that pace, but he still shaved off another 0.173 seconds by the end. His teammate was almost half a second slower in P2, with Lando Norris landing in third. Still, this was only an appetizer before the day's main event.

Sprint Race

Sergio Perez made a bold move at the start of a rather wet Sprint race as he overtook Verstappen going into turn one at the Red Bull Ring. It was only a short-lived victory, as Max leaped back into the lead after a hairy situation just a few corners later. Seeing Hulkenberg up front for once wasn't something F1 fans would have expected, but that action makes the Sprint races so much more exciting.

Perez only allowed the German driver to stay ahead of him rather briefly and took decisive action during lap 12. Going into the final quarter of the Sprint Race, it was improbable that anyone could have caught up to Verstappen. Even Perez, who was in P2, was almost 12 seconds behind. While Carlos Sainz was closing in on him, Charles Leclerc was further down the road fighting against Norris for P9. One thing's for sure, these Sprint Races are a lot more entertaining in this time and age, and we wonder if this may be the primary format for the F1 racing weekend.

Max Verstappen walked away with eight points out of this confrontation, while Sergio Perez also scored seven. With Carlos Sainz in P3, both Aston Martin drivers followed closely, but Lance Stroll was ahead of Fernando Alonso this time. Niko Hulkenberg had to settle for P6, which must have almost felt like a victory for Haas after so many difficult years of racing.

George Russell had everyone holding their breath in the last few seconds as he almost overtook Esteban Ocon down the main straight, but "almost" is the keyword here. Everyone was already feeling the pressure for the main event. After all, serious points are at stake during Sunday's GP, and quite a few drivers are still chasing the 2023 title.

Austrian Grand Prix: Main Event

The starting grid for the main event was already settled during Friday's Qualifying session. Verstappen had secured Pole Position, but Christian Horner was probably not as happy that Checo had his fast lap deleted due to exceeding track limits. Meanwhile, both Ferrari drivers were ready to take on Max, as Leclerc and Sainz were fast enough to breathe down the Dutchman's neck. With no rain in the way, everyone was expecting a good show for the 10th official race of the season. Ferrari's ace driver tried to make a move on Verstappen early on in the race, but it wasn't enough to deter the Dutchman from staying in the lead.

It didn't take long for the safety car to appear, but it was a minor inconvenience that lasted about one lap and a half. There were a lot of complaints about exceeding track limits throughout the race, and Lando Norris kept insisting that Lewis Hamilton should be handed a five-second penalty for the breach of rules. Plenty of other drivers also suffered a similar fate throughout the race. Sergio Perez was fighting his way through the ranks, trying to make up for lost time, and he landed in P11 less than 31 miles (50 km) into the race.

By lap 14, Hulkenberg was out, making it a bitter-sweet weekend after the impressive stint on Saturday. By lap 17, Perez was already in P3 and still running on the first set of tires, unlike several other drivers in the race. Sainz was coming in hot from the rear and was about to give the Mexican a bit of a headache throughout the next few laps. Their duel was the most interesting one from the Austrian GP and would go on toward the very end, with small victories on both sides.

Leclerc had his challenge with Verstappen, but most of the time, the Dutchman was 10 or 20 seconds ahead of his opponent. Max was confident enough to pit late in the game, as he wanted to secure the extra point for the fastest lap. It might have been a risky decision for everyone else, but the World Champion wouldn't have it any other way. With him passing the finish line in P1, he has now racked up 229 points. Leclerc will probably be celebrating tonight as he finished P2- his best result all season long!

But he is light years behind in the overall rankings and would need a miracle to win this year's championship. Sergio Perez was the third driver to cross the finish line and now has more than double the number of points compared to the Monegasque. With Carlos Sainz in fourth, Fred Vasseur can still hope that his team will finish at least third in the championship this year if they can overcome the hurdle laid before them by Aston Martin.

Lando Norris may have been off to a slow start of the weekend, but there is new-found hope for the British driver as he scores ten crucial points for his 2023 season. However, how does Zak Brown feel about Oscar Piastri, considering he crossed the line in P17? Fernando Alonso was faster than his teammate this time and must feel quite comfortable in third overall this year.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell followed suit, and we can't help but think of Toto Wolff's reaction during the race: "Yes, yes, we know the car is bad, please drive it." Is this the beginning of the end for the Hamilton-Mercedes relationship after so many years? So many rumors are going around these days, especially concerning Hamilton's departure to Ferrari, but we'll have to wait at least another month before things become more apparent. And we'll be sure to report back once we know anything!