Charles Leclerc secured a brilliant victory at the Austrian Grand Prix, pipping Max Verstappen to hold off his Red Bull rival until the end… while Lewis Hamilton remained third after Carlos Sainz’s race was abandoned due to dramatic engine failure
- Charles Leclerc held off a late charge from Max Verstappen to win in Austria
- Carlos Sainz looked set to finish second but his engine blew late on
- This allowed Lewis Hamilton to finish third for the third consecutive race
- Sergio Perez also did not finish after an opening lap collision with George Russell
By Jonathan McEvoy for the Daily Mail
Posted: 13:00, 10 July 2022 | Updated: 22:56, July 10, 2022
It wasn’t the result those who lit the orange torches came to enjoy, but the one the world championship needed – victory in a dramatic, fire-lit Austrian Grand Prix for Charles Leclerc.
The Ferrari man thrice overtook Dutch partisan favorite Max Verstappen, who finished second, to record his first victory since a sunny afternoon in Melbourne eight races ago and three months to the day.
But the most dramatic moment came on lap 57 in the other Ferrari when Carlos Sainz suffered an engine blowout. He parked in the gravel when flames started coming out of the back.
Charles Leclerc was delighted to be back on the top step of the podium on Sunday
Leclerc overpowered Max Verstappen to win the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring
Verstappen had to settle for second place despite a late push for victory
He tried to get out of the cockpit, but his car was on an incline and began to roll backwards. The task of getting out was like walking up a hill, momentum working against him. There is no parking brake to pull in this world. Instead, one could only hope that the marshals would be able to rescue him in time.
The truth is that they did not threaten the 100m world record.
But a marshal finally arrived to place a chock under the front right wheel and that partially halted the slow rollback.
Sainz finally broke free and ran to safety, sitting off to the side, contemplating both his bad luck and his happy deliverance.
There was late heartbreak for Carlos Sainz as his engine blew causing his car to burst into flames
Sainz’s misfortune allowed Lewis Hamilton to finish third for Mercedes
By this point, the Scuderia had found their form – sheer pace, quick pit stops, optimal strategy and in Leclerc a confidence in a touch that cut his gap to Verstappen to 38 points at the mid-season mark of 22 rounds.
Verstappen started on pole after winning Saturday’s sprint, but Leclerc chased him like a hound chasing a rabbit. The Monegasque tried to make an overtaking stick on lap 10, but the world champion held on.
Two laps later, however, Leclerc shot down the inside of the right-hand turn 4 and was gone.
Red Bull had to try something different. They brought Verstappen on for an early boot change on lap 13. As Leclerc entered on lap 26, the Dutchman took the lead. The crowd, mostly dressed in orange, cheered.
Sergio Perez went into the gravel on the first lap after a collision with George Russell
He was unable to recover from the setback, which led to Red Bull retiring Perez’s car
But it didn’t last as Leclerc passed Verstappen on the 33rd lap. “The car is so unpredictable,” Verstappen said after losing at Turn 3. “It’s so crazy.”
Both men mounted once more. Verstappen relinquished the lead for the final time on lap 53 to his red tormentor.
Leclerc won by 1.5 seconds ahead of Verstappen, with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton third – 41 seconds adrift of the winner – for the second week in a row. He got on the podium after finishing eighth on the grid.
Russell fended off a collision with Perez to finish third
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez made it easy for Hamilton after he retired following an early mistake by George Russell.
Russell had to stop for a new front wing, received a five second penalty for his part in the collision and dropped to 19th. He finished fourth.
Sainz’s withdrawal also helped Hamilton, but the Briton was responsible for two good passes on Haas pair Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen in the early stages of the afternoon.
Leclerc complained about his throttle late on, after the Virtual Safety Car phase brought on by Sainz’s fire, but it didn’t matter.
Verstappen set the fastest lap and took the extra point as a consolation.
Follow Sportsmail’s live blog as the Formula 1 campaign continues at the Austrian Grand Prix.
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