Max Verstappen Made History in Austria
Max Verstappen performed flawlessly at his home Austrian Grand Prix, reaching his 11th victory of the season. The Dutch driver thus won for the ninth consecutive time, equaling Sebastian Vettel's record.
Starting the race from the pole position, Verstappen maintained his lead at the start. However, during the rain pass, he lost the lead to teammate Sergio Perez, as he was one lap late to the pits.
Verstappen, who also performed well on rainy surfaces, switched to soft tires and regained the lead when he pitted.
Verstappen, who did not turn his back after taking back the lead, was not affected by the rain that started in the last laps, nor the restart after the red flag, and easily reached the 11th victory of the season by seeing the checkered flag in the first place.
Helmut Marko, who praised his driver after the race, thinks that Verstappen can now be remembered as one of the best in history.
โI don't know what Max could have done better than that,โ said Marko.
"It's certainly delivered an unprecedented performance, wet or dry, it 'reads' the race, the tire protects and it doesn't compromise its composure."
"It's also impressive that he did it in his own home, we're talking about a race that's very emotional and under a lot of pressure."
โEvery season is different in sports, but Max is phenomenal. All zamI have no doubt that he is one of the best pilots of the moment.โ
Marko also explained the reasons behind Verstappen's success as follows:
โWe must not forget that there are 22 races this year, which means a lot of simulator work. Competition is increasing.โ
โThe busy schedule impresses the pilots, but the same zamone advantage at a time: the life of the F1 Max. Maybe that's what makes him so powerful."