Leclerc saves the day for Ferrari at Red Bull's home and Sainz leaves

Fernando Alonso finishes tenth

MADRID, 10 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) took victory this Sunday in the Austrian Grand Prix race, the eleventh round of the Formula 1 World Championship, while the Spanish Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) was forced to leave due to the breakage of the engine and Fernando Alonso (Alpine) finished tenth after starting from the last row of the grid.

Only misfortune prevented the 'Scuderia' from doing a double at Red Bull's 'home', something with which they would have avenged what happened in Imola, where the energy brand did a double; on lap 57, when he was riding on the podium, Sainz had to withdraw from the track after the engine broke and get out of a vehicle engulfed in flames; it was his fourth DNF of the year.

The day of the 'Cavallino Prancing' could have ended even worse, but Leclerc managed to survive the problems with the accelerator pedal that affected his car in the final stage. With this, he signed his third victory of the course, the fifth in his career in Formula 1, and returns to second position in the drivers' standings -38 points behind Verstappen-.

"I was really scared," he acknowledged on the radio after the race about the final approach of the Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull). The championship leader saved the day with a second place, the best possible result given the pace that the Ferraris had in Spielberg. In addition, the British Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) was third with his third consecutive podium.

LECLERC OVERTAKES VERSTAPPEN

Faced with an immense tide of orange flares in the stands of the Red Bull Ring, Verstappen was able to defend his privileged position, conquered in the sprint race on Saturday, against Leclerc once the traffic lights went out, but the fight jumped from behind.

The British George Russell (Mercedes) managed to overtake Sainz - although the Madrid native regained third place -, and after a contact with Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) he ended up in the gravel forced to enter the pits to ride hard. Behind, Alonso began his comeback, which took him from last place to eighth in just 19 laps.

Already on lap 11, Leclerc, who had begun to set fast laps, put the nose into a 'Mad Max' who knew how to defend himself, but his better pace would make overtaking inevitable. Thus, just one lap later, the Dutchman succumbed and took the opportunity to make his first stop to wear the hard compound.

The strategy allowed Sainz to rise to second place, a place where he remained until lap 26, when he entered the pits with his teammate to both leave behind the World Championship leader. Meanwhile, the energy brand withdrew the car of 'Checo' Pérez, who finally succumbed to the damage caused by the incident with Russell on the first lap.

Before the halfway point of the race, Leclerc regained the lead of the event after overtaking a surprised Verstappen. "Your career is with Hamilton, the Ferraris are out of our reach," they warned him on the radio. However, the Dutchman was back in the fight after seeing Sainz's car come to a stop on lap 57.

The Spaniard left the track to park his car, but the engine caught fire and the flames spread throughout the vehicle; the winner at Silverstone had to be helped by circuit operators to leave the cabin.

The 'virtual safety car' offered a free stop to drivers like Leclerc or Alonso, who, however, could not take advantage of the advantage; The Spaniard was positioned ninth after going through the garages for the first time, but a problem with his car forced him to stop again immediately and he fell to fourteenth place.

The Monegasque did not escape problems either, and with ten laps to go he began to experience problems with the accelerator pedal. Verstappen smelled blood and came within three seconds, but the 'Scuderia' managed to hold on.

Hamilton was also on the podium, with Russell and Frenchman Esteban Ocon (Alpine) in the 'Top 5'. The German Mick Schumacher (Haas), the British Lando Norris (McLaren), the Danish Kevin Magnussen (Haas), the Australian Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) and Alonso completed the top ten positions.