Verstappen cruises to victory again in Austria whilst Perez recovers to a podium

Max Verstappen continued his solo charge towards a third Formula One Drivers' Championship with a perfect weekend in Austria.

Having already gotten pole and won the sprint race, having been fastest in the sprint shootout, he then won the race at the Red Bull Ring in front of his adoring fans whilst also pitting at the end to grab the fastest lap.

For his teammate, Checo Perez, it was a confidence-building recovery drive. His track limits nightmare in qualifying meant he started down in P15, but he managed to get on the podium by finishing third behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Checo fights back against Sainz

On lap 62 Perez managed to snatch third place from Carlos Sainz after a battle in which the Spaniard fought back and helped Leclerc to break away so as not to risk his second place, although he complained over the radio about alleged intimidation from the Mexican.

Verstappen experienced his race separately and broke away from everyone very quickly from lap 35 when he regained the top spot and was 23 seconds clear of Leclerc, when he was called into the pits to set the fastest lap.

"It was a tough weekend, but we recovered with the team, fantastic strategy and great pace," said Checo after finishing third in Spielberg.

Sainz finished fourth, followed by Lando Norris, who was voted 'Driver of the Day', while Fernando Alonso placed sixth, ahead of the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, with Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll completing the points zone.

In the Constructors' World Championship, Red Bull leads with 377, but the battle is on for second place, for now with Mercedes on 178 points, six more than Aston Martin, while Ferrari is also in the fight with 158.

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