How Norris and McLaren finally took on F1’s top teams “on merit”

Max Verstappen was rarely troubled in the Austrian Grand Prix as he completed a clean sweep of Formula 1's two races at the Red Bull Ring. He leaves with his points advantage extended thanks in no small part to the disruption caused to Mercedes by an on-form Lando Norris, in perhaps the most complete McLaren showing since the V8 era

Alex Kalinauckas Jul 5, 2021, 9:30 AM

There was a very good race behind Max Verstappen, the dominant winner for the second week in a row at the Red Bull Ring – this time for Formula 1’s 2021 Austrian Grand Prix. He was so crushingly in command that it evoked Lewis Hamilton’s win in Hungary and Spain last year, which serves to highlight just how far the formbook has swung in Red Bull’s favour this season.

Verstappen was so good and so far away from his opposition that he may as well have been in a different race. In the fight behind, and briefly in the Dutchman’s orbit, everything really centred on one driver.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.