- Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas won the Austrian Grand Prix.
- The reigning champion Lewis Hamilton lost the second place after being penalized after the end of the race.
- Charles Leclerc was second, and Lando Norris third.
- Verstappen ended the race after 10 laps, while Sebastian Vettel finished 10th.
Bottas’ Dominant in Austria
The Finish driver was leading right from the start, up until the last lap, showing one very convincing performance. Starting the season with a victory will be a massive boost for Bottas, who demanded equal treatment with Lewis Hamilton on several occasions last year.
According to the sources from within the F1 caravan, the Fin has ambitions to attack the title this year, and even though that might not be the plan of his team, Bottas is reportedly determined very much to fulfill his mission.
If he drives like today, those title dreams could become a reality pretty soon.
The race itself was pretty chaotic with three safety car appearances and with nine drivers abandoning the competition.
“There was definitely quite a bit of pressure all through the race. One Safety Car was still okay. With the last Safety Car it was like, ‘Come on, not again.’ There were so many chances of Lewis having to get the lead even if I made a small mistake,” said the winner
Regarding Hamilton, the reigning champion, he would end as second, but later had to slip down two places, because of the penalty the race stewards gave him.
Hamilton and Albon were battling for the position at one moment, with the younger Brit trying to move around Lewis. Mercedes’s driver didn’t leave enough space for Albon to pass, and Red Bull’s driver finished outside the track. He did come back but had to drop out later.
Red Bull immediately appealed to the race control, who decided to penalize Hamilton five seconds on his ending time. Eventually, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris managed to squeeze in ahead of the champ.
“There’s always the risk of overtaking on the outside but I gave it as much space as I could, I was on the edge and it’s up to him if he wants to crash or not,” Lewis said.
Leclerc Second, Norris Third
Ferrari’s driver was solid today, and he followed the leading Mercedes duo throughout the race, having occasional battles with the rest of the rivals. However, we could say that he got more than he deserved here.
On the other side, Norris was fantastic, and his performance today was beyond all the expectations. McLaren’s youngster set the fastest lap of the race in the last one, and that eventually earned him the podium. He was two-tenths of second faster than Hamilton.
“I’m speechless. There were a few points where I thought I’d fudged it up a bit… but I managed to get past Perez and end up on the podium! I’m so happy and so proud of the team.”
Max Verstappen was out after 10 laps, while Sebastian Vettel finished 10th.
The next race is in seven days at the same circuit, and after this one, we might expect an even more interesting battle.
