Winner, Verstappen forgot his bad patch at the start of the year

The TV production did not often show it during the broadcast of the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday on the Red Bull Ring, and for good reason: Max Verstappen (Red Bull) did not make a mistake and had an ideal race to sign his fourth victory in F1.

“This feels ******* good! »@Max33Verstappen is one happy chappy #AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/JAwbeom1XQ

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 1, 2018

Starting from the second row on the grid, the Dutchman passed Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) after a few kilometers. Climbed to second place after the surprise retirement of Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), he then took advantage of Mercedes' strategic blunder to move ahead Lewis Hamilton when he stopped in the pits after the Virtual Safety Car (VSC).

From this moment, the vice-champion of Formula 3 Europe 2014 focused on managing the degradation of its rubber, victims like its rivals of "blister", blisters on the surface of the tires. “Behind me there was no pressure, I tried to control my lead, but at one point, yes, I could see my tires with blisters. I just had to work around it. »

Unbelievable! Thank you so much @redbullracing for the amazing car and strategy, and the Orange army for the incredible support This win will stay with me for the rest of my life #unleashthelion #keeppushing #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/Y2Cub0Rfu3

- Max Verstappen (@ Max33Verstappen) July 1, 2018

Credited with a lead of seven seconds over Kimi Räikkönen with 20 laps to go, the Red Bull driver nevertheless felt the Finn's breath on his neck. “ Three or four laps from the end, I felt a little more comfortable because he wasn't going to catch up, but from one lap to the next, the blister could have increased on the rubbers. I would have been in trouble. »

Statisticians will have noticed that Max Verstappen is the driver with the most points over the last three Grands Prix. A return to grace which is good for the morale of the brand new twenty-year-old after multiple driving errors this spring.

It couldn't really be anyone else…@Max33Verstappen is your #F1DriverOfTheDay #AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/qM5GS3CTmW

- Formula 1 (@ F1) July 1, 2018

“Sometimes you go through bad times and you work hard, tirelessly even when it’s tough, and you eventually overcome it. It's as simple as that. It's the race. »

Discover the full report and analysis of the Austrian Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Spielberg, in issue 2172 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.