Verstappen unleashed by Red Bull updates in Austria

Red Bull Racing’s starts have been a headache this year, and at the Red Bull Ring Max Verstappen didn’t get away well either. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were all over Max, but Verstappen kept them at bay with strong defending. That allowed him to look forward and once again prove himself a skilled attacker. He took full advantage of Kimi Antonelli’s scruffy racing and surprised Charles Leclerc by overtaking him around the outside in Turn 5.

With Verstappen’s strong opening, he put himself in position to fight for the win. From third place the Dutchman showed serious pace and quickly reeled in Lewis Hamilton. The ensuing duel cost Verstappen time relative to George Russell, but the Brit never pulled far away.

On lap 12 it was Ferrari that blinked first, pitting Lewis Hamilton for hard tires. After Hamilton just about managed to fend off Verstappen, Ferrari decided not to risk it further. Mercedes and Red Bull Racing did not respond.

In those few laps Verstappen’s pace really stood out. Thanks to the fighting behind him, Russell had built a 5.7s lead, which Verstappen slashed to under five seconds in just a few laps. Antonelli, who had also joined the fight by then, proved unable to get any closer to Verstappen in his Mercedes.

On lap 18 Verstappen pitted for a fresh set of hard tires. Russell reacted immediately, but Verstappen’s undercut had reduced his lead to just three seconds. The four-time world champion still had to deal with Hamilton, who had slotted in between Russell and Verstappen thanks to his early stop.

This time Verstappen again showed his class as one of, if not the, best attackers on the Formula 1 grid. Verstappen forced Hamilton to defend in Turns 3, 4, and 5, then completely surprised the Brit with an overtake in Turn 6. That ended the duel and Verstappen could set off after Russell.

In the first phase on the hard tire, Russell managed to stretch the gap to Verstappen to over five seconds, after which Verstappen gradually came back. A VSC for Carlos Sainz’s stoppage also brought Antonelli back into the fight. Once on new hard tires, he could launch his chase of Verstappen from P3.

After twenty laps on the hard tires, Verstappen had completely closed the gap to Russell. With just one second between them, an undercut was on for Verstappen. Red Bull was ready in the pit lane, but Russell dived in on lap 44. Verstappen stayed out, opting to have a better tire for the final stint. Meanwhile, Antonelli was getting more and more into the race. What had been a nine-second deficit was down to just four by the time Russell pitted.

On lap 49 Verstappen finally came in, after telling the team over the radio that his tires were dead. That was obvious too. Russell was closing rapidly on his fresh rubber, while Antonelli had also climbed onto Verstappen’s rear wing. Exiting the pits, Verstappen had tires five laps fresher than Russell’s, but trailed the Brit by 11 seconds.

Antonelli, now also in the fight for the win, pitted on lap 51 for new hard tires. That gave him tires two laps fresher than Verstappen’s and seven fresher than Russell’s. Antonelli rejoined four seconds behind Verstappen and fourteen behind Russell. With 20 laps to go, it became an intriguing sprint to the finish.

In the dash to the line, Red Bull’s strategy didn’t pay off. Verstappen’s deficit was too big to bridge even with fresher tires. He closed most of the gap, but ultimately didn’t get within striking distance of Russell. Antonelli threw everything at catching Verstappen, but couldn’t quite manage it.

Still, Verstappen and Red Bull can look back on the weekend in Austria with satisfaction. With the new updates Verstappen could have started on the second row and had the pace to fight for the win. That’s a positive sign considering where the team started this year. There are still two major issues Red Bull needs to solve: the starts and the recurring technical problems.