MPH: To the man trying to fill Christian Horner's shoes: good luck!
Laurent Mekies arrives as Red Bull F1 team principal with a series of immediate challenges to solve and long-term issues to tackle. He'll either sink or swim, says Mark Hughes
Race results for the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix. Contains full classification. Full race report is published separately
The lights go out at the start of the Austrian Grand Prix Photo: Motorsport Images
Max Verstappen fought back from a disastrous start to win at the Austrian Grand Prix, taking first place from Charles Leclerc with two laps to go, after a nail-biting battle.
The pair made contact, pushing Leclerc off the track so, despite receiving the winner’s trophy on the top step of the podium, Verstappen had a three-hour wait to see whether a steward’s inquiry would impose a penalty. In the end, no further action was taken.
It came as a relief to Verstappen’s “orange army” of supporters who had been cheering a victory that looked unlikely at the start, when Verstappen’s anti-stall system kicked in, as he started from second place behind Leclerc.
His Red Bull was rapidly swamped, being overtaken by both Mercedes, as well as Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen and Lando Norris.
Max Verstappen’s “swashbuckling” comeback drive: read Mark Hughes’ full Austrian Grand Prix race report
Mercedes was off the pace, however, and Verstappen had the edge on the Ferraris, as well as fresher tyres after a late pit stop. It paved the way for a commanding comeback, where he overtook Vettel, Bottas and then Leclerc on track in the final 20 laps. The victory was the first for Red Bull’s engine supplier, Honda, since 2006.
The result lifts Verstappen to third place in the drivers’ championship with 126 points, ahead of 123 for Vettel. Hamilton remains ahead, with 197 points, followed by Bottas with 166.
McLaren again put on a strong performance to finish as best of the rest, with Norris sixth and Carlos Sainz eighth, followed by the Alfa Romeos of Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi.
Read the full story in Mark Hughes’ race report.
The full race results are below.
Position | Driver | Team |
Time |
Points |
1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1hr 22min 01.822sec | 26* |
2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +2.724sec | 18 |
3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | +18.960sec | 15 |
4 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | +19.610sec | 12 |
5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +22.805sec | 10 |
6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +1 lap | 8 |
7 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | +1 lap | 4 |
8 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren | +1 lap | 2 |
9 |
Kimi Räikkönen |
Alfa Romeo | +1 lap | 1 |
10 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | +1 lap | 0 |
11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point | +1 lap | 0 |
12 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | +1 lap | 0 |
13 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | +1 lap | 0 |
14 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | +1 lap | 0 |
15 | Alexander Albon | Toro Rosso | +1 lap | 0 |
16 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | +1 lap | 0 |
17 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | +1 lap | 0 |
18 | George Russell | Williams | +2 laps | 0 |
19 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +2 laps | 0 |
20 | Robert Kubica | Williams | +3 laps | 0 |
*Includes point for fastest lap
Position | Driver | Team | Points |
1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 197 |
2 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 166 |
3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 126 |
4 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 123 |
5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 105 |
6 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull | 43 |
7 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren | 30 |
8 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 22 |
9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo | 21 |
10 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 16 |
11 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 16 |
12 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 14 |
13 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point | 13 |
14 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 10 |
15 | Alexander Albon | Toro Rosso | 7 |
16 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | 6 |
17 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 2 |
18 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 1 |
19 | George Russell | Williams | 0 |
20 | Robert Kubica | Williams | 0 |
Position | Team | Points |
1 | Mercedes | 363 |
2 | Ferrari | 228 |
3 | Red Bull | 169 |
4 | McLaren | 52 |
5 | Renault | 32 |
6 | Alfa Romeo | 22 |
7 | Racing Point | 19 |
8 | Toro Rosso | 17 |
9 | Haas | 16 |
10 | Williams | 0 |
Laurent Mekies arrives as Red Bull F1 team principal with a series of immediate challenges to solve and long-term issues to tackle. He'll either sink or swim, says Mark Hughes
Former McLaren F1 team-mates Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard are set to renew old rivalries in a new Evening with... tour – they told James Elson all about it
In Formula 1, driver contracts may look iron-clad on paper, but history shows that some of its biggest stars have made dramatic early exits
Former McLaren F1 ace told James Elson about his private audience with The Beatles' George Harrison, who played an unreleased grand prix-themed song