For the sixth time in four years, Formula 1 took to the Red Bull Ring in Austria to run a world championship event. Coming into the race, reigning world champion Max Verstappen was looking to add a fourth win at the circuit to his resume, and continue Red Bull Racing’s streak of winning every race so far in this 2023 season. The Dutchman’s chances at victory were heightened after his teammate Sergio Perez’s disappointing qualifying saw him line up 15th on the grid, leaving it up to the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to challenge the dominant Verstappen.

Verstappen held the lead off the line, successfully fending off Leclerc, who started alongside him. The first lap saw mostly clean battles up and down the field, save for a couple sloppy moves by Yuki Tsunoda that resulted in first him losing part of his front wing, and then flying off into a gravel trap. These errors plus an ensuing pit stop saw him fall to plum last in the running order after a safety car was deployed to clean up the debris on the track.

Shortly after running was resumed, the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg lost power, forcing the German to retire. After a spectacular drive in yesterday’s sprint race, Hulkenberg’s grand prix was sadly ended prematurely, which also caused a virtual safety car to be enacted. While a points finish was far from a guarantee for him, he likely would have been in the running for tenth or ninth place later on, especially with the onslaught of penalties that hit the field today.

Austria has always been a circuit where track limits are an issue, but they were especially prevalent in today’s race. Competitors up and down the field were pushing the limits just a little bit too much, and the FIA were quick to dish out warnings and time penalties throughout the event. Front runners such as Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz were victims of such infractions, which hampered their chances of a podium finish. They were certainly not the only ones though, as almost half the grid received a time penalty for track limits during the race.

For a brief moment, it looked like Charles Leclerc might actually be able to challenge Max Verstappen for the win. During the VSC for Hulkenberg’s retirement, Ferrari pitted Leclerc for fresh tires, and after Verstappen pitted a few laps later under green, the Monegasque emerged with the lead. It was the first time in the last roughly 250 total laps that a driver not named Verstappen had led a grand prix. There was speculation that Red Bull were planning a one-stop race for their double world champion, which caused optimism that if Ferrari tried a two-stop strategy for Leclerc, they might have a shot in the end. However, this hype was short lived, and Verstappen quickly regained the lead, and committed to a two-stop race to cover off any threat from the Scuderia. From then on, it was the usual cakewalk for the Dutchman, which saw him pit on the penultimate lap for a set of new soft tires in order for him to set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, which gained him a bonus world championship point (as if he needed any more points).

The final finishing order saw Verstappen, Leclerc, and Sergio Perez make up the podium, after a solid recovery drive from the Mexican, who wound up twelve spots higher than he qualified. Sainz came in fourth, but the fan-voted driver of the day award went to the man who finished just behind him, Lando Norris. It was a stellar drive for McLaren’s young star, as he battled with Ferrari and Mercedes all day long, pulling off some impressive overtaking and defending moves in the process. This was by far McLaren’s best finish of the season thus far, and Lando’s impressive day should give the team some hope that their fortunes are beginning to turn around. 

Behind Norris came Fernando Alonso, who had an unusually quiet day by his standards. In seventh and eighth were the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, respectively. Hamilton complained of a poor handling race car for most of the grand prix, while Russell was never able to carve his way through the field after starting the race from eleventh on the grid. Pierre Gasly brought home a solid drive for Alpine in ninth, and Lance Stroll rounded out the top ten. Aston Martin put Stroll on an unconventional three-stop strategy, but thankfully for them it earned them a valuable world championship point in the end.

All in all, the Austrian Grand Prix saw good battles for most of the race, a decent element of strategy, and a (albeit momentary) challenge for the win. Those who attended the race had plenty to cheer about, especially with home favorite Max Verstappen taking the checkered flag. After a strong outing in Spielberg, Formula 1 heads on to the British Grand Prix in a week’s time at Silverstone, which is always one of the best races of the year. Hopefully, the event will build on the positive momentum generated by today’s Austrian Grand Prix. 

*EDIT: More track limits penalties have been applied post-race, and the finishing order has now changed. The top ten for the Austrian Grand Prix is now Verstappen-Leclerc-Perez-Norris-Alonso-Sainz-Russell-Hamilton-Stroll-Gasly.