Max Verstappen powers to 'amazing' Austrian Grand Prix victory with fifth straight win, Lewis Hamilton finishes seventh

Max Verstappen continued his dominance at the summit of the F1 World Championship with an almost flawless fifth straight victory of the season at the Austrian Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver secured the one-sided win ahead of Charles Leclerc – who finished second to finalise Ferrari's second podium of the season – while Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez produced a fine powerhouse drive to complete the podium after coming through the field from P15 to claim third.

Ad Perez was involved in a fabulous scrap in the closing 10 laps with Carlos Sainz that saw both men complain about each other's tactics before the Mexican finally overhauled the frantic blocking tactics of Sainz's Ferrari. Austrian Grand PrixVerstappen claims Austrian Sprint Grand Prix to extend lead at topYESTERDAY AT 15:26 That late battle probably helped Leclerc hang onto second.

He had briefly led when reigning world champion Verstappen, starting from his sixth pole of the season, pitted around the halfway stage, but once the Dutchman hit the front again, there was no looking back as his ability to avert any serious trouble again came to the fore in a car seemingly built for every condition. Winning the Sprint Race on Saturday saw him extend his lead in the F1 Drivers' Championship to a daunting 70 points.

That was increased to 81 points ahead of Perez before the British Grand Prix at Silverstone next weekend, the 10th round of a season that already feels a lap of honour for Verstappen after a remarkable 42nd career win, with half of those achieved in the past 14 months. «That was an amazing race, guys,» said Verstappen after taking another significant step towards a third straight world title.

«The car was on fire. Really, really good and great pit stops