Austrian Grand Prix Race Debrief | Who has been the driver of the season?

He was even able to pit for a second time to further ensure he would win the fastest lap, and still finish 17 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas in P2; Verstappen is looking unstoppable.

Not only did he win 26 points to aid his title charge, but the Dutchman’s main rival Lewis Hamilton was unable to finish on the podium, coming home in fourth after suffering damage to his car.

That deficit means Verstappen is now 32 points clear of Hamilton in second place, and Mercedes need to catch up, and quickly.

What went wrong for Hamilton?

After Verstappen eased to the win last weekend, it was always going to be a tricky task for the seven-time world champion, and he fared even worse this time around. 

However, it wasn't really his fault. From the get-go, Red Bull simply had more speed, and the win was a step too far for Hamilton. Furthermore, he suffered damage to his car that saw him slip from second, down to fourth, and lose further ground on his rival. P2 would’ve been achieved if his car was working as it should, but these things happen.

To pin the blame on Hamilton would be extremely harsh, but it’s fair to say that Verstappen well and truly has the upper hand. The Brit has now failed to win in any of the past five races, accumulating just two podiums in that time as well, which is something we’re not used to seeing.

Either way, Hamilton and his Mercedes team will need to try and rectify things before Silverstone, or this championship could soon be over.

Upgrades are planned, however, so the Silver Arrows will be hoping to close the sizable gap to ‘Super Max’.

Is Lando Norris the Driver of the Season?

It’s a bold shout to say the least, with Verstappen going so well, but Lando Norris certainly has a claim to that title. He’s the only driver to have scored points in every race so far in 2021, he’s finished in the top five in eight of the nine races, and he’s secured three podiums, which is more than Sergio Perez.

The fact that he was within half a tenth of pole position in qualifying was good enough, but then he backed it up with a P3 finish, that would’ve been P2 had he not been handed a time penalty.

The McLaren clearly has immense straight line speed, but Norris is extracting the absolute maximum out of the car, and the team will be glad he’s tied down to a long-term contract

With regulation changes happening next year, McLaren may well close the gap to the top two teams even further, but you can’t help but wonder if Norris could’ve moved to Mercedes, perhaps when Hamilton leaves, if he hadn;t signed that deal.

It seems a straight shoot-out between Bottas and George Russell for that second seat for 2022, but Norris would’ve been an outside shout. In fact, on team radio during the race, Hamilton told his engineer Lando was “such a great driver”, after the 21-year-old defended valiantly against him, and Norris certainly has Hamilton’s respect.

This was arguably Bottas’ best race of the season, and Russell was desperately close to the points, but Norris was better than the pair, and his reputation keeps on growing.

Whether or not he made the right decision to stay at the papaya team is unclear right now, but one thing’s for sure: Lando Norris is one hell of a driver.