Thank you very much for joining me. Here is the race report from Giles Richards.
That is four consecutive wins for Red Bull. They are certainly the team to beat now and Mercedes need to respond. Christian Horner looks rightly bullish as he speaks to Sky.
Emphatic is the word.
Confirmation of an emphatic win for @Max33Verstappen #StyrianGP 🇦🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/9xpbf2iDsK
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 27, 2021
Everyone gets a trophy which is the shape of the circuit. What a treat. Champagne for all.
Charles Leclerc gets the driver of the day award for battling back up to seventh after needing to recover from contact on lap one.
Drivers' Championship
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 156
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 138
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 96
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 86
5. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 74
Hamilton: “It was a bit of a lonely race, I was trying to keep up with those guys but with the speed they have - they have obviously made some changes in the last couple of races.
“I feel we lose a lot of time down the straights.
“I just to keep doing the best we can each weekend. We need to find some improvements, whether it’s upgrading the wing or engine, I don’t know.”
Verstappen: “Straightaway I felt a good balance in the car and it was good to maintain the tyres throughout. We just kept on going and tried to hit our lap times, which worked really well.
“We have to show it again next week and we will have to look at what we can do better.
“It is looking really good [for Red Bull], we need to keep pushing really hard.”
Not much to report from the Red Bull Ring, as Verstappen cruises to another victory. How can Mercedes change thinks before another race here next Sunday?
Top six:
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
5. Lando Norris (McLaren)
6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
Lap 71/71: Hamilton gets the fastest lap of the race and his teammate just about holds off to Perez for third place.
VERSTAPPEN WINS STYRIAN GRAND PRIX
It was a procession from start to finish for the Red Bull driver who beats Hamilton by 40 seconds to increase his lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.
Updated
Lap 70/71: Perez is hunting down Bottas, with fewer than two seconds between them. Hamilton pits so he can go for the fastest lap, potentially.
Lap 69/71: Raikkonen passes Vettel to go 11th. Not much else to report ...
Lap 68/71: Sky are telling me there is a battle for 11th, which is a sign of how dull things are at the front.
Lap 67/71: Perez is seven seconds behind Bottas, who has just been permitted to pass Ricciardo.
Lap 66/71: Verstappen is going to win barring any major cock ups. How will Hamilton respond for the next race?
Lap 65/71: Perez v Bottas is the only interesting thing left about this race. The Mexican is less than eight seconds behind.
Updated
Lap 64/71: Bottas is struggling to get past Ricciardo, which is bad news for him and good news for Perez.
Lap 63/71: Norris is running his own race in fifth; he can’t catch Perez in fourth and Sainz is not getting too close from behind.
Lap 62/71: Still no rain in Styria where it is still very hot. I anticipate some thunderstorms this evening.
Lap 61/71: Perez closes the gap on Bottas to 12.5 seconds. This will be fun in the final few laps, at least.
Lap 60/71: Verstappen is 10 seconds clear of Hamilton - the winner of this race looks a foregone conclusion.
Leclerc is up to seventh. He has had a great personal race following his difficulties on lap one.
Lap 59/71: Hamilton really is testing the track limits and could receive a penalty if he carries on. His team give him a little warning, which he probably will not appreciate.
Lap 58/71: Bottas is being told to get through the traffic as quickly as possible to keep Perez behind him.
Lap 57/71: Perez gets the fastest lap of the day. That is a point taken from Hamilton.
Lap 56/71: Leclerc bursts past Alonso, who will no longer have much of an interest in Stroll. Hamilton is told to just settle for second, essentially.
Top five:
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
5. Lando Norris (McLaren)
Lap 55/71: Perez pits, which is a surprise. Medium tyres are on and he is off to fight it out with Bottas for third, and potentially take the quickest lap off Hamilton. Red Bull certainly have a plan.
Lap 54/71: Alonso is lapped but he will not mind as he has eyes on pushing Stroll in seventh. He is 1.7 seconds down on the Aston Martin.
Lap 53/71: Verstappen will need to maintain his concentration for the remainder to avoid exacerbating any issues.
Lap 52/71: Verstappen is having a few issues with his brake pedal. Stay off the kerb, is the advice.
Lap 51/71: No two-stop for Hamilton, as there have some doubts over whether he can chase down Verstappen. The good news for Hamilton is that the clouds above are looking very dark. Is rain on its way?
Updated
Lap 50/71: Leclerc goes past Vettel, who then locks up on the hairpin. Vettel does not have much to play for here, as he drops to 11th.
Lap 49/71: I like how one corner has a massive screen up. That seems slightly distracting for drivers.
Lap 48/71: Perez is going to get right behind Bottas very soon. Third might be the more interesting battle than the one for first.
Lap 47/71: I would be surprised if this race ends up being particularly close, as Verstappen is driving so smoothly now.
Lap 46/71: Verstappen is now six seconds ahead of Hamilton, although the Mercedes man does have the fastest lap to his name.
Lap 45/71: The answer is no, as Sainz moves into the top sixth with a clean pass of Stroll. Hamilton seems irked by how quick Verstappen is on the straights.
Lap 44/71: Sainz is hunting down Stroll for sixth. Can the Aston Martin hold him off?
Top five:
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
5. Lando Norris (McLaren)
Lap 43/71: Norris is very comfortable in fifth, which is excellent news for him. If he stays there, it will be a cracking result for McLaren.
Lap 42/71: Raikkonen almost makes contact with Leclerc after a bit of a battle for 13th ends with the Ferrari ahead.
Lap 41/71: There is a huge gap between fourth and fifth but the Bottas v Perez battle for third could be fascinating.
Lap 40/71: Verstappen laps Vettel, remember him? Verstappen is still looking very comfortable leading the pack (and lapping it).
Lap 39/71: David Wall asks: “It was one of the big technical stories from earlier in the season but seems to have gone very quiet recently. So what is actually going on about the flexible rear-wings that a few of the teams were using, that the FIA said broke the rules, but that those teams were going to be allowed to continue using for a grace period. Has that period now finished, have they removed or fixed those features so they are within the rules now, and why were they allowed a grace period at all? It seemed very odd decision making by the FIA.”
It is a complex matter.
Lap 38/71: Russell pits for a third time ... and he is out. A sad end following a promising start.
Lap 37/71: A few teams could be reconsidering their pit stop plans. Hamilton might now be looking at a two-stop plan to give him the best chance of chasing down Verstappen.
Lap 36/71: Verstappen is about to catch up with Raikkonen in seventh, a sign of how quick it has been going.
Lap 35/71: Hamilton is now dropping back of Verstappen in this two-horse, although it does not look very close currently.
Top five.
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
Lap 34/71: Hamilton is chipping away at the lead, taking it down to around four seconds. He cut 0.6 seconds in just one lap.
Lap 33/71: Verstappen is concerned by his brakes system but his pit team seem pretty calm.
Lap 32/71: It looks like it is a one-stop strategy for those at the front. Will the tyres last?
Lap 31/71: A slow motion replay of a Red Bull mechanic struggling to get Perez’s tyre off at the first time of asking is made to look like a remake of platoon. The lad looked gutted.
Updated
Lap 30/71: Verstappen is in and out of the pits in two seconds. Impressive. He is still a long way in front of Hamilton.
Lap 29/71: Russell had to go into the pits for a second time with pneumatic pressure. There is more debris out of the track, which is a worry. Not a clue where it is from.
Lap 28/71: Hamilton pits and gets a tyre change and is off back to the track after a clean stop.
Updated
Lap 27/71: Bottas is the latest man to pit and he comes straight back out ahead of Perez. Some good pitting from Mercedes.
Lap 26/71: Russell pits and is in there for a very long time as he has more issues than he would hope. Perez is in, too, coming out behind Bottas and Norris.
Lap 25/71: Leclerc is up to 14th after his latest overtake. It could be a fun day overtaking lesser cars for him.
Hamilton is “getting small vibrations” and almost just ended up off the track with an underwhelming turn.
Lap 24/71: Bottas is closing the gap of Perez in third, with the difference down to two and a half seconds. Red Bull will not want a Mercedes car in two and three.
Lap 23/71: Mazepin pits as part of a scheduled stop. He comes back out in 19th.
.@HaasF1Team boss Guenther Steiner presented @nikita_mazepin with his own "Maze-spin” spinning top 😂👏#SkyF1 #StyrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/beLuhAXPTd
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 27, 2021
Lap 22/71: The gap at the front is increasing as each lap goes back. Do Mercedes need a plan B?
Lap 21/71: Verstappen is increasing his lead at the front, which is a further suggestion that Hamilton’s car is not at its peak. The Red Bull driver has a 4.388 second lead.
Lap 20/71: The skies look like they are getting a bit darker ...
Lap 19/71: Hamilton’s tyres are looking better than Verstappen but the Mercedes man says he is “struggling” with something or other. Verstappen is certainly having some handling issues, possibly due to the wind.
Lap 18/71: It is getting windy at track level. That could make things interesting. Will we see some rain?
Lap 17/71: The gap between Verstappen and Hamilton is being maintained at around 3.75 seconds.
Top six:
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
4. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
5. Lando Norris (McLaren)
6. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Lap 16/71: There is not much space between seventh and 12, with Alonso leading the pack. There could be a fascinating subplot within those six spots.
Lap 15/71: Leclerc ended up at the back of the traffic after needing some work on his car after the opening lap but he is creeping up the field.
Lap 14/71: Verstappen is, naturally, looking composed leading the race. It takes plenty of concentration to lead from start to finish but he will not mind.
Updated
Lap 13/71: Russell is sitting pretty in eighth, so will be looking for a decent finishing position today.
Lap 12/71: Norris and team are not worried about the overtaking, accepting he cannot compete for two long with the likes of Perez and Bottas.
Lap 11/71: As I tap that, Norris slips down another spot as Bottas goes past him. Not a great couple of minutes of Norris.
Lap 10/71: Norris gives Perez a chance to go past and he takes it with gusto.
Top five:
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
4. Lando Norris (McLaren)
5. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
Lap 9/71: Hamilton is eight seconds clear of Norris in third, so it looks like a two-horse race already.
Lap 8/71: Norris is still holding off the threat of Perez and looking comfortable in third. Red Bull will want that to change soon.
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Lap 7/71: This could be a procession if Verstappen carries on like this, he’s already well over two seconds clear of Hamilton. There is, however, a lot of racing to come.
Lap 6/71: Perez has Norris in his sights and could have some fun wit the DRS when he gets the right opportunity.
Lap 5/71: Verstappen has the fastest lap of the race. He is looking in fine form, that’s for sure.
Not investigation for the turn three issues.
Lap 4/71: Leclerc could be in trouble for knocking into Gasly and ultimately ending his race.
Lap 3/71: Hamilton has hit some debris, something he bemoans over the radio but the team think he is OK for now. Gasly is out.
Andrew Benton asks: “Amazed to see that Kimi Raikonnen still has a drive - albeit near the back of the grid. What happened to him? He was once F1 champion, wasn’t he? Or, is it a different Kimi Raikonnen ...”
It has been an unfortunate career trajectory but it is the same bloke.
Lap 2/71: Gasly has a puncture and some other damage, which is a bit of an issue. He is in the pits but he does not look like he will be back.
Updated
Lap 1/71: Norris loses third place pretty quickly, as everyone else watches Verstappen speed away from everyone to open up a gap early. Leclerc is straight into the pits due to some damage.
Lights out
Here we go!
Solid outfit.
Cue belting rendition of the Styrian anthem 🙌#StyrianGP 🇦🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/fuhJYiJCds
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 27, 2021
Claude Camilleri emails with his engine view: “To the new Honda engine. I think it will be inevitable that a new PU will have more power. Such advantage cannot be had only from a rear wing upgrade surely. I consider it a huge risk to change PU and risk being judged to have gained an advantage and lose all the points retrospectively. I really think that the upgrade of the wing coincided with the change of the PU to put the advantage gain on the wing. If the upgrade is made to improve reliability when and how often have had problems with their Honda engine recently? Reliability is a very lame excuse.”
There is a man in Austrian getup singing the anthem of Styria. It sounds quite aggressive but lots of picturesque shots of valleys and water provide a calming background.
Hamilton is on his scooter on the way to find his car.
The grid
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Lando Norris (McLaren)
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
5. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
6. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
7. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
8. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
9. Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
11. George Russell (Williams)
12. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
13. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
14. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
15. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)
16. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
17. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
18. Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo)
19. Mick Schumacher (Haas)
20. Nikita Mazepin (Haas)
That is a lot of people.
Lewis Hamilton is concerned by Red Bull’s straight-line speed, which seems to be coming from their new engine, which was introduced last weekend. Some conspiracy theorists believe it has a performance upgrade which is forbidden.
But Verstappen says the improvement is down to the rear wing. “I get this question that we are really quick in the straight, and yes we are, but look at our rear wing, it is not the same,” he said.
“Our engine is all about reliability improvement and no clear advantage on pure power so I am going to fire up my printer next time and bring a print-out of the rear wing difference that we are running compared to other teams.”
Updated
“I stopped being interested in F1 when it stopped being competitive - years of undiluted Schumacher, then Vettel, then Hamilton,” Richard Hirst says. “ I’ve always found the worship of Hamilton somewhat excessive: he’s clearly a good guy with his heart, and actions, in the right place, but he’s mainly only had to beat his teammate, such has been the superiority of his car. Now his car is not the best he’s not winning. I know this will be sacrilege to many people but so be it.”
We do not mind sacrilege here.
Lewis Hamilton has a few decisions to make.
Lewis Hamilton has a cunning plan to help beat Max Verstappen ... rain.
“Max has had a quarter of a second on us all weekend,” said Hamilton. “I don’t think we have the raw pace to overtake him, that’s for sure. We might just be able to keep up.
“I go into the race for a fight and I will be giving it everything. Maybe we will get a surprise. Maybe it will rain.”
You should probably learn about what happened in qualifying.
Good afternoon
Max Verstappen is on pole as the greatest threat to Lewis Hamilton dominance of the sport continues to prove he is up for the challenge, with the Dutchman 12 points clear at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. The Red Bull driver has looked in fine form on Friday and Saturday, thanks to his impressive work when cornering. Verstappen has won on this circuit twice already, so will be more than confident he can do it again.
“I got into qualifying and the car didn’t feel as good as it did in third practice,” Hamilton said after finishing third in qualifying, although he will be alongside Verstappen at the front of the grid following Valterri Bottas’ dangerous driving in the pit lane. Hamilton will be looking to win for the first time in four races, a surprisingly long drought for the world champion.
Lando Norris will start in third after some fine qualifying, as he looks to secure a position on the podium but it’s a very tough ask.
Let’s hope it’s a fun race.
