Red Bull driver Verstappen wins Austrian GP ahead of rejuvenated Ferrari’s Leclerc in 2nd

SPIELBERG, Austria: Reigning Formula One champion Max Verstappen continued his relentless march toward a third straight world title with another dominating win at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday. Verstappen started from pole position for the fourth straight race and notched his fifth straight win and seventh in nine races so far this season. He increased his championship lead to 81 points over his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.

“I think our stints were perfect so a great day, I enjoyed it a lot,” Verstappen said. “I am just enjoying driving this car and racing for this team.” So much so that he even got his way to come in two laps from the end for a shot at the fastest lap, despite his team’s reluctance to take the risk. Typically, he got the bonus point for it on the final lap to complete a perfect weekend after his victory from pole in Saturday’s sprint race.

“I saw the gap and said ‘We have to pit,’” Verstappen said. “From the outside maybe it looks like a big risk, but when you’re in the car it doesn’t feel like a risk at all.” The victory also took the 25-year-old Dutchman onto 42 F1 wins overall, one ahead of the late Ayrton Senna and alone in fifth place on F1’s all-time list of winners. Charles Leclerc — last year’s winner of the race — finished 5.2 seconds behind Verstappen in second place with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez placing third, 17.2 behind.

But Verstappen’s winning margin was shortened by his late pit stop, and it was another comfortable victory on his team’s home track in Spielberg. Making a clean start from pole, he held off Leclerc on Turns 2 and 3 and easily regained the lead from him following a pit stop at the halfway point of the 71-lap race at the Red Bull Ring. “Most important to me was lap