2023-07-04 15:29:06
Max Verstappen’s announcement towards the end of the race in Spielberg was clear: he wanted to stop in order to be able to start an attack on the fastest race lap with fresh tires. Verstappen admitted that the whole thing wasn’t a problem for him, “but I think the team was a little more nervous.”
“I saw the lead and thought to myself: We have to stop. If there’s a chance, I want to set the fastest lap. Ultimately, that’s what we did,” said Verstappen regarding his thoughts.
He had a 24-second lead before the stop, following which he was two seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc. A glitch at the stop and victory would have been in jeopardy. But Verstappen didn’t give that a thought.
“It may look like a big risk from the outside, but for me in the car it didn’t feel like a risk at all,” said Verstappen.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely without risk, as team boss Christian Horner emphasized. Of course, this last pit stop to get the fastest lap was a small risk, said Horner. “But the guys were in such good form all weekend that we felt it was worth the risk.”
Of course, Verstappen knows how to proceed. “He put pressure on us during this pit stop. You might tell he wanted that soft tire set. We said: ‘Okay, no risk, no fun!’ That’s what Dietrich (the late Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz; editor’s note) always said. And the mechanics were in such great shape in the pits today that it was just a small risk,” said Horner.
In the end, Verstappen secured the extra point – the bottom line was that the Dutchman scored 34 out of a possible 34 points at the weekend.
Austrian GP, Red Bull Ring
01. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:25:33,607 h
02. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, +5,155 sec
03. Sergio Perez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, +17.188 sec
04. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, +26,327 sec
05. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, +30.317 sec
06. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, +31.377 sec
07. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, +48,403 sec
08. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, +49,196 sec
09. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, +59,043 sec
10. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, +1:07,667 sec
11. Alex Albon (T), Williams, +1:19,767
12. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Alfa Romeo, +1 Runde
13. Logan Sargeant (USA), Williams, +1 Runde
14. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, +1 Runde
15. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Alfa Romeo, +1 Runde
16. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, +1 lap
17. Nyck de Vries (NL), AlphaTauri, +1 Runde
18. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, +1 Round
18. Yuki Tsunoda (J), AlphaTauri, +1 Runde
Out
Nico Hulkenberg (D), Haas, engine failure
Championship status (following 9 of 22 races)
driver
01. Verstappen 229 points
02. Pérez 148
03. Alonso 131
04. Hamilton 106
05. Sainz 82
06. Leclerc 72
07. Russell 72
08. Stroll 44
09. Ocon 31
10. Norris 24
11. Gasly 16
12. Hulkenberg 9
13. Albon 7
14. Plates 5
15. Bottas 5
16. Zhou 4
17. Tsunoda 2
18. Magnussen 2
19. De Vries 0
20. Sargeant 0
Constructors’ Cup
01. Red Bull Racing 377 Punkte
02. Mercedes 178
03. Aston Martin 175
04. Ferrari 154
05. Alpine 47
06. McLaren 29
07. Haas 11
08. Alfa Romeo 9
09. Williams 7
10. Alpha Tauri 2
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#spirit #Mateschitz
