Max Verstappen has won the Styrian Grand Prix, beating Lewis Hamilton to the finish line to extend his lead over his title rival in the drivers’ championship.
Red Bull’s Verstappen converted his pole position to record his fourth win of the season, while Hamilton qualified second and finished in second place.
Hamilton recorded the fastest lap of the day at the end of the race, but that achievement will be of little consolation for the defending world champion, who already trailed Verstappen by 12 points ahead of the event in Austria.
Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas finished in third place, ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in fourth and McLaren’s Lando Norris in fifth.
Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri exited the race early, following a coming-together with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc on turn three of the opening lap.
Gasly’s car could not continue, while Leclerc’s vehicle sustained some damage but not enough to prevent him from surging to a seventh-placed finish.
After his win, Verstappen said: “You never know, of course, how it’s gonna end up, but straight away I felt a good balance in the car.
“The car was on fire today, so nice to drive,” the Dutchman had told Red Bull over the team radio after crossing the finish line.
Hamilton, meanwhile, said: “It was a bit of a lonely race really.”
“I was trying to keep up with those guys, but the speed they have…” the British driver added of Red Bull.
“They’ve obviously made some big improvements over the last couple of races. Impossible to keep up.”
Top 10 at end of race:
1) Max Verstappen – Red Bull
2) Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
3) Valtteri Bottas – Mercedes
4) Sergio Perez – Red Bull
5) Lando Norris – McLaren
6) Carlos Sainz – Ferrari
7) Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
8) Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
9) Fernando Alonso – Alpine
10) Yuki Tsunoda – AlphaTauri
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