Lewis Hamilton told off by Mercedes after fuming ‘this car’s slow mate’ as F1 champ Verstappen wins AGAIN at Austrian GP
LEWIS HAMILTON earned a ticking off from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff as he was left for dust by Max Verstappen.
The Dutchman blasted his way to his fifth straight win and took the fastest lap bonus point on the final lap.
It was a clean sweep, having qualified on pole and taken victory in the sprint race the previous day.
Verstappen is simply unstoppable and now has an 81 point lead in the championship over Sergio Perez, who finished third, despite starting in 15th.
Verstappen said: “Most important was staying in front and doing my own race and follow our normal strategy. It was a great day, I enjoyed it a lot.
“I don’t like to think of [another title]. I have to keep working with the team. A lot of things can go wrong, but a lot of things went right this weekend.”
Charles Leclerc was second in a much-needed boost for Ferrari while Lando Norris was fifth behind Carlos Sainz.
Hamilton was seventh, but was left unhappy after falling foul to the stewards, who punished him with a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits.
Verstappen made a good start from pole and was able to cover off the threat of Leclerc and Sainz as the two Ferraris looked to make progress.
Hamilton was next in line but he did not have the pace to keep up with the front three.
He quickly found himself in a battle for fourth with Norris, who was quick to report that the Mercedes man was sliding off track.
Hamilton was not happy and radioed his team saying “this car’s slow, mate”.
A few laps later he added, “I can’t keep it on the track, the car won’t turn”.
The seven-time world champion was soon hit with a five second time penalty by the stewards for running wide at the final turn.
Hamilton was unhappy and started questioning whether Perez was also being penalised.
In a series of radio exchanges, Hamilton vented his frustration saying “this guy’s been off every single time. Turn 10. Again”.
Meanwhile, Verstappen was not having any problems sticking between the white lines.
And when he pitted from the front on lap 25 for fresh tyres, it was the first time he had not been the race leader in the last 248 consecutive laps.
It was an impressive run that stretched from lap 47 in the Miami GP some five races ago.
However, it was not too long before he was at the front again. He passed Sainz on lap 26 and then sailed past Leclerc on lap 35.
While Verstappen was untroubled, Hamilton was unhappy and earned a rebuke from Merc boss Wolff over the team’s radio.
Hamilton again asked to find out why others were not being penalised, and Wolff cut in saying “Lewis the car is bad, we know. Please drive it.”
Hamilton served his penalty on his second pitstop and that killed off any lingering hope of an unlikely podium.
But there was a good fight for the final podium place as Perez and Sainz battled for third with the Mexican coming out on top.
Yet there was time for a huge flex from Verstappen as he pitted on the penultimate lap for new tyres.
His Red Bull team executed the perfect pitstop and he was able to go and set the fastest lap on the final lap.