Posted July 01, 2019 08:15:48

Max Verstappen has showed off his risky racing style to win the Austrian Grand Prix for a second straight year and end Mercedes' unbeaten streak this season.

Chasing the leading trio, the Red Bull driver used all of his overtaking skills to get past Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas in the closing stages of the race before passing leader Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari with just two of the 71 laps to go.

However, Verstappen had to wait more than three hours after the race to have his win confirmed.

Race stewards investigated the Dutchman's pass of Leclerc as the wheels of both cars touched in a duel full of excitement, which has often been lacking in recent F1 races.

Leclerc held off an attempt by Verstappen in lap 68, but failed to do it again the next lap. The cars came out of Turn 3 side by side when their wheels bumped, with Verstappen on the inside pushing Leclerc off the track.

FIA considered it "a racing incident" and "in the totality of the circumstances, we did not consider that either driver was wholly or predominantly to blame for the incident."

When still unaware of the verdict, Verstappen had denied any wrongdoing.

"The second time I braked a little bit deeper in the corner. From my side this is racing, it is just hard racing," Verstappen said.

Leclerc, however, claimed "the second overtaking was not done correctly. There was contact and I had to go wide."

The much-debated finish to the race came after Verstappen had to work his way up to the front of the pack after dropping down to eighth due to a difficult start.

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas completed the podium, ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who started fourth and lost time to replace the front wing of his Mercedes after 31 laps and finished fifth.

Australia's Daniel Ricciardo finished 12th in his Renault.

Photo: Fans salute a picture of three-time Formula One world champion Niki Lauda mounted on a helicopter. (AP: Ronald Zak)

The first Austrian GP since Niki Lauda passed away last month paid tribute to the three-time F1 champion.

Two of Lauda's championship winning cars, the 1975 Ferrari and the 1984 McLaren, were on display in the paddock and fan zone, respectively. Also, Turn 1 of the track was renamed "Niki Lauda corner".

In the stands, more than 50,000 of Lauda's trademark red caps were distributed.

Topics: formula-1, motor-sports, sport, austria