Spielberg, Austria, July 10 (AP): Charles Leclerc revived his Formula One title challenge by holding on to win the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday for a third victory of the season, while his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz’s hopes of a second-place finish ended when his engine blew as he was about to attack Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.
Leclerc was clearly stressed in the closing laps as his throttle was not working properly, making it more difficult to control his speed into turns.
The Monaco driver held on to beat second-place Verstappen by 1.5 seconds.
A relieved Leclerc sang along as the anthem played on the podium, then engaged in a Champagne-spraying joust with a grinning Verstappen. Leclerc didn’t forget Ferrari’s race director Laurent Mekies, either, dousing him with bubbly.
The mutual respect between Verstappen and Leclerc — both 24 years old and former fierce karting rivals — is growing strongly.
Leclerc moved up to second overall but is still a distant 38 points behind Verstappen — 208 vs. 170 — with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez dropping to third. He retired after 26 of 71 laps after being hit on the opening lap when trying to overtake George Russell’s Mercedes.
Verstappen picked up a bonus point for fastest lap to go with the eight points he took by winning Saturday’s sprint race.
Lewis Hamilton finished third for Mercedes and encouragingly gained a third straight podium place. Russell got a five-second time penalty for the Perez incident but placed fourth. Even more impressive since Mercedes had to repair both cars after a late crash in Friday’s sprint qualifying.
The incident brought out a virtual safety car, causing Leclerc and Verstappen to change to fresh tires in case a real safety car came out.
Leclerc’s fifth career victory was one of his best, considering how he held on at the end. It was also a very welcome one for the driver after five difficult races without a podium and much confusion over team decisions.
Last Sunday, it was Leclerc who was exasperated at the British GP when his team kept him out on track rather than pit him for new tires during a late safety car, leading to Sainz’s first victory and discussion about team divisions within Ferrari.
