F1: ‘Rainmeister’ Verstappen dominates wet Austrian GP Sprint

–by Mark Cipolloni–

He is the best in the dry, and he’s the best in the wet – World Champion Max Verstappen out dueled his Red Bull Honda teammate Sergio Perez for the top spot on lap 1 and then gave the entire field a driving lesson they won’t soon forget to win the Austrian GP Sprint race.

Perez finished over 21 seconds behind his superior teammate, and Carlos Sainz Jr. brought his Ferrari home third to round out the podium.

A truly dominant performance from the Dutch driver who collects 8 points for the win and extends his point lead over Perez by one point,  203 vs. 133.

Lance Stroll out dueled his Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso for 4th and 5th place respectably.

With the rain falling at the start and then the track drying, it was an exciting race with a lot of battles up and down the field, except at front where no one could touch the ‘Rainmeister.’

Further back, Russell put those softer tires to brilliant use, going from 10th to eighth on the final lap, and nearly pipped Ocon for seventh across the line. What a performance from the fighting Briton.

Nico Hulkenberg squeezed past Lando Norris for seventh, and was immediately on the back of Ocon for sixth. The dry tire runners were clearly quicker than the rest of the grid, but it was just too late for others to make an impression.

Austria Sprint Results