Jun 29, 2024, 07:33 ET
The Dutchman held off the McLaren attack and took a notable victory in the short competition at the Red Bull Ring. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were the guards.
Does Max Verstappen have anything left to prove? Not much. Perhaps, how to continue being the best when his car is no longer overwhelming against the rest. In the 2024 season, he has been showing that in every Grand Prix, especially in the last six races. And he did it again in the sprint of the Austrian GP, round 11, with a galley and baton handling, brilliant and brilliant to win in the sprint.
McLaren is the most powerful rival that Red Bull must face each weekend. And in the sprint in Austria, Verstappen had to battle against the two drivers from the Woking team: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. And he had to give every ounce of his enormous talent, because with three DRS zones on such a short and fast track, staying ahead is difficult.
And Lando went for the lead in the fifth of the 23 agreed laps. He got over it, but that was where Max taught. Because Norris, already in the lead, had DRS enabled in the next sector to make a difference, but Max is Max. He used all the power his Red Bull gave him to get his RB20 to the front and regain the lead. For the Englishman, things couldn’t have been worse, because he was also overtaken by Piastri.
“I had a good first lap. When I was able to get the drivers behind me out of DRS range, I was able to get my race off the line. There are some things to improve. Tomorrow will be a harder and longer race,” said Verstappen after achieving his tenth success in sprint races, of the 15 that were held in the history of the category.
Once Verstappen made the light on Piastri, there was no more racing. The Australian may have had less pace than Norris, but the Englishman was unable to overtake his teammate and there was no team order that favoured the Englishman. And Max went straight to success, after battling and showing his class.
“It was a good race for Oscar and me. I could definitely have done a few things better in the battle with Verstappen. I missed the chance with Max and left the door open. In the end I had a good pace,” said Norris, who has been chewing up anger often, because he is very close, but Max has a clear advantage in the personal duel.
The biggest concern for Red Bull is that Verstappen is struggling alone, because Checo Pérez is far from the fight for the lead. The Mexican has gone five races in a row without being able to give a hand to the Dutchman and, to make matters worse, scoring very little, a problem for the energy drinks squad in the Constructors’ Cup fight.
The sprint passed and this Saturday the qualification for the long race on Sunday will be held. Another key moment that will determine how the battle in Austria will continue.
