SPIELBERG, Austria (AP) — Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen dominated the Styrian Grand Prix on Sunday to win back-to-back races for the first time in his career.
With a clean start from pole, the Red Bull driver denied Lewis Hamilton an early attack and he remained ahead for the entire race, beating his Mercedes rival by more than 35 seconds.
Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas finished third ahead of Sergio Perez as Red Bull and Mercedes occupied the top four places once more.
It was Verstappen’s 14th career win and fourth of the season, increasing his lead over the seven-time world champion in the drivers’ standings to 18 points after eight races. A race win is worth 25 points.
Racing on its home track in the Austrian Alps, Red Bull stretched its winning streak to four races, as Hamilton’s wait for his 99th career victory reached the seven-week mark.
The last time Hamilton went without a win in four straight races came more than three years ago, spanning the last three races of 2017 and the first three of the following season.
Red Bull squandered a potential 1-3 finish with a slow pit stop for Perez, which lasted for nearly five seconds due to an issue with the left-rear tire.
The Austrian GP on the same track is scheduled for next Sunday.
___
More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
