Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and George Russell were RaceFans’ standout performers at the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix. Below we explain why each of them earned that recognition.
Stars
Max Verstappen
This was Max Verstappen at his most complete: blisteringly quick over a single lap in qualifying and relentless in his pursuit of Red Bull’s first win of the season. His start was compromised when Red Bull say his anti-stall activated as the lights went out, but once he cleared that he was all attack. He swept past Pierre Gasly immediately and then moved smoothly around rivals including Lando Norris and Kimi Räikkönen.
Although Valtteri Bottas offered relatively little resistance at the front, Verstappen still had to work to get past the Ferrari drivers. His decisive pass on Charles Leclerc for the win was robust and precise—on the firm side of acceptable but ultimately effective—and secured a well-earned victory for Red Bull.
Lando Norris
McLaren’s young talent again impressed in qualifying, narrowly missing a fifth-place slot on raw pace by mere hundredths before inheriting it due to a penalty for another driver. Verstappen’s slow getaway briefly promoted Norris to third behind Hamilton, and although he dropped positions to Raikkönen and Hamilton at different points, he fought his way back past the Alfa Romeo and then held off Pierre Gasly’s quicker Red Bull.
He also had to thread his way past Daniel Ricciardo during the race. By managing his tyres and overtakes intelligently, Norris finished a strong sixth and reinforced his growing reputation for racecraft.
George Russell
Russell endured a worrying moment in Q1 when Williams failed to warn him that Daniil Kvyat was approaching rapidly, resulting in a near collision and a three-place grid penalty. Starting from the pits made his race tougher, but he produced an excellent recovery drive. He nearly leapfrogged Kvyat during the pit sequence and then held off Kevin Magnussen to the finish, while his teammate finished some distance further back. It was a promising display of composure and pace under pressure.
Strugglers
Pierre Gasly
The contrast between Verstappen’s race and that of his teammate could hardly have been clearer. Gasly again relied on soft tyres to reach Q3 while Verstappen used medium tyres to gain a tactical edge. Gasly was unable to make progress past the midfield, failing to get by Norris and missing the chance to challenge for the fastest lap point. Pressure on him and his seat is increasing after another difficult weekend.
Robert Kubica
Expectations for the FW42 are modest, but the gap between Robert Kubica and his rookie teammate is widening. Kubica came under threat of being lapped by Russell by the race’s end, highlighting the struggles he continues to face.
And the rest
Both Ferrari drivers enjoyed solid weekends. Charles Leclerc showed a slight qualifying edge over Sebastian Vettel, while Vettel’s race pace was marginally stronger. Vettel’s weekend was hindered by technical problems in qualifying, and Leclerc will rue not forcing his rivals into a harder fight for victory.
Mercedes had an off weekend as well, hampered by cooling issues with the W10. Bottas was unsettled by confusing radio instructions in Q3 and had his preparation lap affected when Leclerc passed him late in qualifying; Hamilton capitalised to take second on the grid. Hamilton later received a penalty in Q1 for impeding Kimi Räikkönen and damaged his front wing in the race, limiting him to fifth.
Carlos Sainz’s weekend was shaped by an engine penalty that he turned into a strong recovery. A late pitstop for fresh tyres allowed him to charge through the field and finish eighth, though a damaged front wing likely robbed him of a chance to challenge Norris and Gasly more closely.
Alfa Romeo made useful gains with their upgraded car, securing the final points positions. Antonio Giovinazzi reached Q3 alongside Räikkönen, scored his first career points and looked potentially quicker than his former world champion teammate toward the end of the race.
Sergio Perez delivered a solid performance for Racing Point, leading the Renault cars home despite both Racing Point drivers failing to make it out of Q1. Renault struggled with grip in low-speed corners despite experimenting with various setups; Daniel Ricciardo finished just behind teammate Nico Hülkenberg after a late-race tussle.
Alexander Albon took engine-change penalties but still finished ahead of his teammate, despite being unhappy with the car balance. Daniil Kvyat’s weekend was set back by the Q1 incident with Russell: he had trimmed downforce expecting a higher grid slot and then found it difficult to make progress.
The Haas drivers were split by the midfield puzzle of tyre performance. Romain Grosjean remained frustrated by the team’s struggle to get the tyres working, while Kevin Magnussen—who had qualified as high as fifth before taking a gearbox penalty—fell down the order further after a drive-through penalty for triggering the jump-start sensor.
Over to you
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