Max Verstappen wins Austrian Grand Prix to extend championship lead over Lewis Hamilton

Red Bull driver cruises to victory in Spielberg to move 32 points clear of Lewis Hamilton

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  Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates winning the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg on Sunday, July 4, 2021.

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  McLaren's Lando Norris celebrates after finishing in third place with second placed Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas.

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  Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates winning the Austrian GP on Sunday.

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  Aston Martin's German driver Sebastian Vettel drives in Spielberg.

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  Red Bull's Dutch driver Max Verstappen drives in Spielberg, Austria, on Sunday.

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  Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates winning the race.

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  Red Bull's Max Verstappen crosses the line to win the race.

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  Red Bull's Sergio Perez ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton during the race.

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  Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton steers his car during the Austrian Grand Prix.

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  Spectators and supporters of Red Bull's Dutch driver Max Verstappen wave flags at the Red Bull Ring.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen extended his lead in the Formula One world championship race after claiming his third win in a row from pole at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Verstappen moved 32 points clear of Mercedes driver, and reigning world champion, Lewis Hamilton after a clinical show at Spielberg's Red Bull Ring.

Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas took second place, with McLaren's Lando Norris in third. Hamilton had to settle for fourth.

Verstappen crossed the line 18 seconds clear of Bottas, while Hamilton sustained damage after running on the kerb at Turn 10, dropping from runner-up to fourth.

"It is incredible for everyone to have delivered this," said Verstappen.

"Today has been amazing. It was insane to see all the fans and so much orange. It is great motivation for me, too."

Verstappen also set the fastest lap to take his tally to 182 points after nine rounds.

"The car was on rails," the Red Bull driver added. "Every tyre set we put on it was really enjoyable to drive. I'm a bit amazed how today went, I didn't expect it to be like this."

Hamilton was running in second for the majority of Sunday's 71-lap race but was unable to keep Bottas and Norris behind as he nursed his damaged car.

Initially, Bottas was told by the Mercedes pit wall not to race Hamilton, hoping their star driver would be able to hang on to second and limit the championship lead of Verstappen.

But with Norris breathing down Bottas' neck, Hamilton was asked to concede the position with 19 laps remaining.

Following his fifth race without victory, Hamilton told Sky Sports: "I already said before the race that it would be very hard to beat Max.

"It was frustrating to lose so much downforce on the rear of the car and not to be able to hold on to second. It is a lot of points lost today.

"I wasn't going over the kerbs more than anybody else so I have no idea where the damage happened but there was a lot of damage. I would have finished an easy second and all of a sudden it broke."

Hamilton added: "We are miles away from them [Red Bull] so we have a lot of work to do. We need all hands on deck.

"We have got to bring some upgrades and find some performance otherwise this will most often be the result."

The race was watched by Formula One's first capacity crowd since the coronavirus pandemic struck, with most of the 100,000 in attendance decked out in his Dutch orange colours.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz finished fifth, with Perez sixth and Australian Daniel Ricciardo racing from 13th on the grid to seventh.

Charles Leclerc was eighth for Ferrari, Pierre Gasly ninth for AlphaTauri, and double world champion Fernando Alonso took the final point for Alpine after dashing the hopes of Williams' George Russell.

Russell, starting eighth, had been 10th with five laps to go, as former champions Williams chased their first point in two years.