Max Verstappen's brilliance in Austria
His clever and aggressive tactics exemplified why he's dominating modern F1.
If you want to understand why Max Verstappen is one of the F1 greats, you only need to look at his unflinching brilliance throughout the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.
Not only did he convincingly dominate both the sprint and the Grand Prix, but he was aggressive and forceful when it was called for, utilised DRS with extreme cleverness, and avoided unnecessary drama with track limits.
“Max is obviously on exceptional form,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said post-race. “Taking qualifying, the sprint race and now the Grand Prix is just sensational.”
Verstappen said sprint weekends were always hectic, adding: “A lot of things can go wrong … and luckily, a lot of things went right for us.”
But it wasn’t just luck
This weekend, Verstappen was brilliant throughout.
On Friday, he netted his 26th career pole position not only with raw pace but because he kept his car within the white lines.
Yes, he had some early scares with track limits, but the Q3 lap, the one that mattered, was all ok. Verstappen didn’t slip up like his teammate Sergio Perez, who made errors and qualified a lowly 15th.
The next day, F1 returned and put on a 24-lap sprint.
Verstappen clinched pole for it, but as the sprint got underway, he was under immediate pressure from Perez, who got a far better start from 2nd on the grid.
In response, Verstappen deployed his trademark bravado and aggressively veered right, squeezing Perez against the wall in a desperate hope to stop him from taking the lead.
It ultimately failed as Perez led through turn 1 - and from here, Perez should’ve held the lead.
But the always-ruthlessly-aggressive Verstappen did not give up. Instead, his brilliance commenced.
At turn 3, Verstappen boldly threw himself up the inside of Perez, braking so late that he momentarily lost control and slid further into the corner. It was forceful, but it pushed Perez wide and allowed Verstappen to dart ahead.
The battle continued into turn 4 as Perez looked to re-pass Verstappen around the outside. In the past, such a move at that corner has led to collisions.
Still, Perez’s efforts were in vain. Verstappen quickly shut him down with more forcefulness. He braked so deep into turn 4 that Perez was left with nowhere to go, completely stifling his momentum.
Verstappen, again, darted ahead.
With his position now cemented, Verstappen went on unchallenged to the sprint victory. When the race ended after 24 laps, Verstappen was 21 seconds clear of Perez.
Clever tactics continue
On Sunday, Verstappen faced another battle for the lead.
He had led the early stages of the race, but after the first round of pitstops, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc cycled to the front. Leclerc made up time with a stop under the virtual safety car.
Verstappen now needed to pass Leclerc to win - and he went about the move quickly and cleverly on lap 35.
As the pair hurtled towards turn 3, Verstappen sniffed a gap and moved to the inside. As they both braked for the tight right-hander, Verstappen could’ve nudged ahead. Instead, he made a calculated move to hang back.
It was a small decision with huge ramifications.
By hanging back, Verstappen gave himself - and not Leclerc - the very helpful drag reduction system (DRS), leaving Leclerc powerless to fight back on the following straight.
Post-race, Verstappen didn’t have much to say about this tactic, but its usefulness is undeniable.
Later on in the race, Sergio Perez was stuck behind Carlos Sainz for several laps. Perez kept inching ahead at turn 3, which meant Sainz got the DRS and would get back ahead on the run into turn 4.
Perez could’ve avoided a prolonged scrap with Sainz if he had been as clever as Verstappen.
The perfect ending
After Verstappen passed Leclerc on lap 35, it was clear he would win the Austrian Grand Prix.
As the race neared its final lap, Verstappen was so far ahead that, against his team’s wishes, he chose to make an unnecessary pitstop for fresh tyres.
This was all in the name of setting the fastest lap.
The bold move paid off and earned Verstappen an extra point - though points aren’t really something he’s really in dire need of given he now leads the F1 championship by 81 of them.
Still, moves like that are what we expect from the aggressive and clever two-time champion.
It should be remembered as the perfect ending to a brilliant weekend.