Verstappen also sets fastest lap: 'Has something to do with humiliation'

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3 July 2023 at 15:31
Last update 3 July 2023 at 17:53
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  • Kada Sarkozi
  • Editor

Max Verstappen won Sunday's Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring by force. The Dutchman was leading handsomely and was therefore eager to make another pit stop near the end of the race to set the fastest lap himself. According to former driver Timo Glock, this was a very big risk and would have made Verstappen "the biggest loser in his country" if this had gone wrong.

Although Verstappen relinquished the lead of an F1 race in Austria for the first time since the Miami Grand Prix on 7 May, the Dutchman also won by a large margin. The gap to number two Charles Leclerc was just over a pit stop length with a few laps to go. As a result, the two-time world champion could not resist the temptation to come in again for a fresh set of tyres to set the fastest lap.

Glock sees Verstappen take big risk

In the end, all went well for the Dutchman and Red Bull Racing, Verstappen taking the maximum number of points on Sunday. "Max Verstappen tried to have the perfect weekend and he succeeded. The way he wanted to go into the pits with full confidence showed that his confidence in his team is huge. He challenges everyone, but if that had gone wrong, he would have ended up being a fool," Glock said in his column at Sky Sports.

"Yet it also shows how strong Red Bull is. They are very sure of themselves. The pit stops are incredibly fast. Verstappen eventually set the fastest lap of the race and gave the competition no hope that there was a chance to take an extra point away from him. It also has something to do with humiliation. His tyre management is also so much better than the rest of the world."

'Red Bull Ring doesn't suit Mercedes'

Mercedes, on the contrary, had a disappointing weekend in Spielberg. Although Toto Wolff said prior to the weekend that the W14 should do just fine here, the German constructor came no further than P7 and P8. "Mercedes has had a setback after the past good weekends. The hope is probably that it has to do specifically with this circuit. The Red Bull Ring puts a lot of pressure on the front tyres. The track didn't fit the Mercedes package. You learn from that."