F1 Paddock Notebook - Austrian GP Sunday

- Max Verstappen claimed the sixth win of his Formula 1 career on Sunday in Austria after a charge through the field, capped off by a late pass on Charles Leclerc to take the win. Verstappen had run as low as eighth on the first lap after a slow start, but a blistering second stint saw him charge to victory.

- It was Verstappen’s second win in Austria following his success last year, making it the second grand prix after Mexico at which he has multiple wins.

- The result marked Honda's first win in the V6 hybrid power unit era in F1, and its first in F1 since 2006 when Jenson Button won the Hungarian Grand Prix for its works squad.

- Verstappen was subject to a post-race investigation following his touch with Leclerc when completing his move at Turn 4, with the stewards confirming three hours after the race that no action would be taken. While Verstappen took a late apex, he did take the apex and was not aiming his car at Leclerc, prompting no blame to be pinned on him for a hard but fair move.

- Ferrari team chief Mattia Binotto confirmed after the race that while the team could appeal the ruling, it would not in the best interests of the sport. Binotto made his disagreement with the ruling clear, though.

- For the second time this season, Leclerc took pole and led the most laps of a race which he did not win, the other coming in Bahrain. The Ferrari driver said after the race that he felt he lacked pace over the long runs, with high degradation towards the end of his second stint on the Hard tyres leaving him an easy target for Verstappen.

- Mercedes’ winning streak came to an end as Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton could only finish third and fifth respectively. Bottas narrowly kept Sebastian Vettel at bay in the race for P3, with Vettel having fitted a set of Softs for a late charge at the end that saw him pass Hamilton.

- Damage caused by running over a kerb at Turn 10 forced Mercedes into changing Hamilton’s front wing during the race, dropping him out of contention for victory. Hamilton had been trying to go long on his first stint in a similar move to Verstappen before being forced to come in. Mercedes therefore fell one race shy of the record 11-race win streak for a team in F1.

- Sebastian Vettel’s slow first pit stop was caused by a radio issue that meant its mechanics were not aware he was coming in. Vettel’s front-left tyre was slow being fitted to his car, costing him time in the pits.

- Lando Norris topped the midfield fight for McLaren with a stellar run to P6, having risen to as high as third on the opening lap. Norris was the only driver to run a Soft-Medium tyre strategy, but managed his tyres well to finish sixth ahead of Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly.

- Gasly finished a lap down on his race-winning teammate as his difficult start to the year continued, finishing seventh. Gasly spent much of the first stint trying to pass Kimi Raikkonen, only getting ahead after the pit stops.

- Carlos Sainz produced one of the drives of the day to go from the back row of the grid to P8, perfecting his Hard-Medium tyre strategy. The result put McLaren 20 points clear of Renault in the fight for P4 in the constructors’ championship after the French marque failed to score any points in Spielberg.

- Antonio Giovinazzi picked up his first F1 point by finishing 10th on Sunday, narrowly behind Alfa Romeo teammate Kimi Raikkonen. This means only Williams drivers George Russell and Robert Kubica are yet to score any points in 2019.

- Racing Point left Austria without points as Sergio Perez finished 11th, while a fuel flow meter issue meant Lance Stroll could only take P14.

- Haas had another weekend to forget as its woes with the VF-19 car continued. Romain Grosjean finished 16th, while Kevin Magnussen finished P19 behind Williams’ George Russell.

- All 20 cars were classified for the first time this season as Robert Kubica took last place, three laps down on the race winner. Kubica was however voted Driver of the Day in the F1 poll.

- Before the race, the first corner at the Red Bull Ring was renamed Niki Lauda Kurve in honour of the three-time world champion who died last month. Many of the grandstands had red caps placed on the seats for fans to wear for a pre-race celebration of Lauda, with two of his classic cars being placed in parc ferme.

- F1 reported a weekend attendance of 203,000 in Spielberg.

- McLaren junior Sergio Sette Camara claimed victory in Formula 2 on Sunday, while Jake Hughes won the F3 race after a penalty was given to Ferrari youngster Robert Shwartzman following contact with teammate Marcus Armstrong.