Charles Leclerc pips Max Verstappen to F1 victory at Austrian GP – as it happened (2024)

And I’ll leave you with our report from the Red Bull Ring. Thanks for reading!

And Christian Horner: “They were very important points today and congratulations to Ferrari, they had a quicker car throughout the majority of the race. Max was coming back at the end there but our tyre deg was higher from halfway through the first stint and it was hard to combat that. Ferrari just seemed lighter on the tyres and obviously they had a pace advantage and that gives you more strategic options.

“Losing Checo was obviously hugely disappointing. It is unlucky for them today with Carlos but our pace at the end of the race, we still have the fastest lap, but we didn’t have the range we had yesterday and that is something we need to understand. Over the two races we have only given away five points with Max so it is not too bad. We will bounce back in France.”

Lewis Hamilton: “It’s been a bit of a rough weekend, but really grateful that as a team we got third and fourth so we move on from here. I do want to say a thank you to the men and women in the garage who worked so hard to rebuild the car. I had a brand new car on Saturday morning, I made a mistake on Friday, not something I do often.”

And here’s Charles Leclerc: “It was a really good race. The pace was there. At the beginning we had some good fights with Max and the end was incredibly difficult. I had this issue with the throttle. It would get stuck at 20 or 30% throttle in the low speeds, so it was very tricky. We managed to make it stick until the end and I am so happy.

“Weirdly [the throttle issue] was more or less the same time [as Sainz’s retirement], so I had it in my mind. I knew it was not a problem with the engine because it was the pedal that was feeling weird. Luckily it went until the end of the race.

“I definitely needed that one. The last five races have been incredibly difficult for myself and for the team. To finally show that we have the pace in the car and we can do it is incredible. We need to push until the end.”

Max Verstappen speaks: “It was a tricky day. It seemed like we were struglging quite a bit with the tyres, and that happened on every compound - too much degredation on the tyres. But second place is still a good result for us on a tricky day.”

How they finished:

1 Charles LeclercL
2 Max Verstappen
3 Lewis Hamilton
4 George Russell
5 Esteban Ocon
6 Mick Schumacher
7 Lando Norris
8 Kevin MagnussenM
9 Daniel Ricciardo
10 Fernando Alonso

Verstappen took fastest lap at the death, but Leclerc clinches a deserved triumph for a faultless display today. “Oh my god – I was scared, I was really scared,” he chuckles.

Lap 71/71: Leclerc gives up nothing in the final stages, Verstappen never getting close enough to mount an attack. The Monegasque wins his first grand prix from outside pole! Hamilton follows Verstappen acorss the line for his third consecutive podium.

Lap 70/71: 2.2secs the gap but it doesn’t look like Verstappen has enough time to do it…

Lap 69/71: Verstappen gets stuck in traffic, behind Schumacher, to give Leclerc an iota of breathing space.

Lap 67/71: Carlos Sainz is in the pit lane, hugging his mechanics but utterly devastated. Verstappen trails Leclerc by 2.7secs.

Lap 66/71: “What’s happening? What’s happening with the throttle pedal?” asks a desperate Leclerc, who is told to lift his foot earlier. Verstappen shaves half a second of his rival’s lead. Five laps to go.

Lap 65/71: Can Leclerc cling on for the win…? He and Verstappen are not giving an inch: they both exchange fastest laps.

Lap 63/71: Now Leclerc is reporting some trouble with his throttle pedal. Meanwhile Russell has snuck past Ocon into fourth, and Albon is in the points with Bottas on his tail.

Lap 61/71: That was a worrying few moments for Sainz, who struggled to get out of his car as it went up in flames. Thankfully the stewards were on the scene just in time. Back on the track, the virtual safety cars ends, leaving Leclerc 3secs ahead of Verstappen, who is trailed by Hamilton, currently on for a podium.

Lap 59/71: That Ferrari’s fourth mechanical failure this season. Leclerc takes his free pit stop under virtual safety car, as does Verstappen.

Lap 58/71: But just as he readies himself for the overtake, Sainz’s engine goes and sends his car trundling into the gravel. He clambers out of the car – which has burst into flames – and sits down on the grass, distraught. And we get a virtual safety car.

Lap 56/71: Russell goes past Alonso for sixth and eyes Ocon 2secs in front. Latifi retires due to damage sustained early on which left him thinking the car was unsafe to drive. Up in third, Sainz has Verstappen in his sights…

Lap 54/71: No time to waste for Leclerc, who reclaims the lead for the third time today, roaring past Verstappen on turn three.

Lap 53/71: Both Ferraris opted for hard tyres – Hamilton goes into the pits and comes out with fresh mediums: aggressive from Mercedes.

Lap 51/71: Yep, in goes Sainz. So the Ferraris’ simple mission is to hunt down Verstappen. Latifi retires.

Lap 50/71: The moment of truth: Leclerc pits from first and emerges third, 3.6secs behind Verstappen. Sainz, who will pit soon you’d imagine, now leads.

Lap 48/71: “That’s BS!” says Hamilton about his black and white. “I didn’t go wide! Are other people getting this?” They are indeed.

Lap 46/71: Russell and Stroll are in a good old tussle for P7, with the Mercedes man coming out on top after a couple of switcheroos.

Lap 44/71: We’ve got an intriguing battle now. Verstappen is now flying, currently 18secs behind Leclerc, who would likely come out second – just – if he pitted, but with fresher tyres. Black and white flag for Hamilton.

Lap 42/71: The stewards agree with Vettel and dish out another five-second penalty to Gasly. Meanwhile the instructions over the Red Bull radio are clear: “Free to push Max, free to push.”

Lap 40/71: Vettel spins out into the gravel trying to go the long way round Gasly. Zhou is the lastest to be hit with a track-limits penalty. “He has to give up that corner,” huffs Vettel. “I had the nose ahead. What is wrong with these people?”

The top four:
1) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (one stop)
2) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari: +6.5s (one stop)
3) Max Verstappen, Red Bull: +25s (two stops)
4) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes: +31.8s (one stop)

Lap 37/71: Alonso gives Tsunoda the old finger-wag treatment – punishment for a defensive move the veteran driver didn’t like.

Lap 36/71: Sainz in third is creeping up on Verstappen – who ducks the duel by veering into the pits: the first driver bar Latifi to go in a second time.

Lap 34/71: Gasyla and Norris both pick up penalties for ailing to stay on the circuit.

Lap 32/71: Russell has climbed into ninth, ahead of Ricciardo. The top five: 1 Verstappen, 2 Charles Leclerc, 3 Carlos Sainz 4. Lewis Hamilton, 5. Esteban Oco.(Alpine)

Lap 30/71: Hamilton is into the pits and it’s not the quickest stop, coming out sixth before overtaking Stroll and Ocon.

Lap 27/71: Leclerc is back up to second after Sainz pits. Meanwhile Norris is not happy with Schumacher: “He completely squeezed me under braking,” says Lando Norris he chides .

Lap 26/71: Leclerc pits from the lead – a quick stop – and emerges in third.

Lap 25/71: You could throw a blanket over Magnussen, Norris, Schumacher, Zhou and Alonso – who’s hauled his Alpine up to ninth. Magnussen mounts an attack on Norris to little avail. Perez, who hasn’t recovered from that opening collision, is forced to retire.

Lap 23/71: Sainz is told over the radio that his team will be going to “Plan E”, whatever that means. Verstappen sets a fastest lap on his new hards.