Styrian Race: Max wins, extends Championship lead
Max Verstappen wins the Styrian GP and extends his Championship lead over rival Lewis Hamilton, in a stunning masterclass performance. The seven time World champion was left gasping for answers for the lack of race pace but there was nothing that he could to do stop the flying Dutchman.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the title contenders started from the front row of the Styrian GP. It seemed like a mega fight was at hand, just like almost all the other races in 2021. However, the race seemed to end for the race winner right after turn 1 of the first lap as Max maintained his lead over Lewis. The Mercedes driver kept playing catch-up but he did not have much in his arsenal for any credible challenge.
The other Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas had a much better day. He started P5 after the grid penalty but managed to finish on the podium, thanks in large part to a botched-up pitstop for Perez, giving Valtteri the lead.
Sergio Perez, the other Red Bull driver had a mixed day. He had a good start and quickly overtook Lando to take the P3 position. However he lost the same in the pitstop and was trying to catch up Bottas but couldn’t. Red Bull tried a different strategy for him, pitting him again for the Mediums, and hoping that he makes up 19 seconds in the last 15 laps. He almost pulled it off but for a few more laps and has to contend with P4. Meanwhile Lewis made an extra-pitstop too for the softs and snatched the 1-point for fastest lap from Sergio.
Ferrari boys doing very well
Both Carlos and Charles and a very good race. Charles had a first lap collision with Pierre, which broke his front wing and caused Pierre to retire. He didn’t give up and stormed through the field, finishing P7 and earning the Driver of the Day award. Carlos kept the race clean, started from outside top 10 and finished in P6.
Mixed fortunes for McLaren
Lando did a good job, staying in the thick of things and managing to be the best of the rest. He finished P5. Daniel Ricciardo meanwhile had another bad day at office. He started well, jumping up 4 places in the first lap but kept sliding down and just couldn’t get the race pace. He has a lot to introspect before the next race.
Stroll, Alonso and Tsunoda did well to stay in the top 10. George Russell had a great start and was in P7 at one moment. However he had some reliability issues and had to retire. He must be devastated, coming once again so close to getting points for Williams. It is an opportune moment for him to show his chops as Mercedes are deciding on their second driver for 2022 and beyond.
Styrian GP Race Classification : Max extends his championship lead.
