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Max Verstappen said he is refusing to dream about completing a hat-trick of world championships after he delivered another emphatic performance to win the Austrian Grand Prix. The double world champion was made to work for his seventh victory from nine rounds after he passed Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz on track in Spielberg. But after manoeuvring himself ahead of both Ferrari drivers, Verstappen raced off into the distance to the delight of his 70,000-strong travelling army from the Netherlands. He leads Sergio Perez in the standings by 81 points – the equivalent of more than three victories – ahead of next weekend’s British Grand Prix. However, when asked about the prospect of taking his third straight title, Verstappen said: “I don’t like to think about that yet. “I am enjoying the moment, driving with this car, and working with this team. I am just very happy for this weekend and we will turn our focus to the next race at Silverstone.” I don’t like to think about that yet Max Verstappen on the chances of a third successive title A day after taking the sprint race spoils, Verstappen was celebrating his fifth consecutive victory, and the 42nd of his career to move ahead of Ayrton Senna. Verstappen fended off an aggressive Leclerc on the opening lap before he fell to third after the Ferrari drivers stopped early for tyres under the Virtual Safety Car. It ended Verstappen’s remarkable run of 249 consecutive laps at the head of a race – a streak stretching back to the Miami Grand Prix on May 8 – however, the Dutchman required just 11 laps before he was back in charge. After he left the pits on lap 25, Verstappen moved ahead of Sainz a couple of laps later, and then fought his way past Leclerc on lap 35 of 71. From there, the Dutchman cruised to the flag – even stopping for tyres on the penultimate lap in order to set the fastest lap and take a bonus point. “It was important to stay in front of Charles on lap one and after that we were able to do our own race,” added Verstappen. “We chose not to box under the VSC and we followed our normal strategy and that worked out really well. “I knew I would get them back eventually and following our own plan was the best way forward. To see all the orange in the grandstands and the flares at the end was incredible.” Verstappen has won 16 of the last 20 races in F1, with Red Bull unbeaten this season as they bid to become F1’s first invincible team. “We can only take it one race at a time,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. “Can we [go unbeaten]? Yes. Will we? Who knows.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Toto Wolff plays down impact of ‘just please drive it’ remark to Lewis Hamilton Austrian Grand Prix to remain on F1 calendar until at least 2030 Lewis Hamilton to start sprint race from 18th at Austrian Grand Prix

Toto Wolff insists his public rebuke of Lewis Hamilton at the Austrian Grand Prix will have no impact on the British driver’s Mercedes future. As Max Verstappen racked up his seventh victory from nine rounds with a crushing performance at Red Bull’s home race in Spielberg to extend his championship lead to 81 points, Hamilton crossed the line a disappointing seventh. Hamilton was the first of six drivers to be penalised by race director Niels Wittich for exceeding track limits. He then spent the remainder of the race asking why some of his rivals – namely Sergio Perez – had not been sanctioned, and also lambasted the speed of his under-performing Mercedes machine. Wolff rarely speaks to his drivers over the radio, but was on the intercom twice to Hamilton during Sunday’s race. “Lewis, the car is bad, we know,” said Wolff on his second appearance over the airwaves. “Just please drive it.” The dressing down might have stung Hamilton. Asked what provoked Wolff to deliver the remark, Hamilton’s answer was short, and not-so-sweet. Lewis, the car is bad, we know. Just please drive it Toto Wolff to Lewis Hamilton “I don’t know,” he said. “You will have to ask him.” Hamilton has six months remaining on his £40million-a-season deal. Might the exchange have a bearing on negotiations? “No, not at all,” said Wolff. “You should hear us talking on the phone and meeting each other. That was nothing. “We have had a bad weekend, all of us in the team, and that just makes us stronger. “It was only for the best interest of the driver and the team. Sometimes there is a certain moment when you need to calm things down but I meant well. “We had a lot of discussion about track limits and whether they were enforced or not. “I wanted to make sure we were getting the best out of the package that wasn’t performing, and trying to give it our best shot.” It has been a difficult weekend for Mercedes in Austria. Hamilton was 10th in the Sprint on Saturday, while team-mate George Russell finished eighth in both the shortened race and the main event. Hamilton’s losing streak now extends to 32 races and Wolff – despite suggesting on June 12 that his superstar driver’s next contract would be signed in “days rather than weeks” – confirmed that there will be no news of an extension at Silverstone this weekend. “I am still very confident it will get done,” added Wolff. “We want to do it super, and to every detail. “This is not a money discussion. It is about the future, what is it that we want to do right, and then optimise. “We are not talking anymore about money, or duration, it is about other topics.” I am still very confident it will get done. We want to do it super, and to every detail Wolff on contract talks with Hamilton Asked how long Hamilton’s next deal will be, Wolff replied: “For a while. The Brits say a couple means two, and the Americans say a couple means a few, so it is somewhere there. Several.” The day began strongly for Hamilton. He started fifth and leapfrogged Lando Norris at the opening corner. But he soon faced the wrath of race control for putting all four wheels of his Mercedes over the white line on three separate occasions. He was penalised with a black-and-white warning flag on lap 12, and then hit with a five-second penalty five laps later. Hamilton took his punishment at his second pit stop on lap 43, dropping him to eighth place. He moved up one spot when Pierre Gasly stopped for tyres but failed to make any impression on Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, crossing the line half a minute back. “The feeling with the car was the same as I had last year,” said Hamilton. “I didn’t expect to be as bad as we were today. It is surprising.” Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari, while Perez raced from 15th to third, passing Carlos Sainz with 10 laps to go. Norris ended the day in fifth to record his best result of a difficult season for his under-performing McLaren team. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Austrian Grand Prix to remain on F1 calendar until at least 2030 Lewis Hamilton to start sprint race from 18th at Austrian Grand Prix Made us look like amateurs – Max Verstappen hits out over raft of deleted laps

Max Verstappen’s crushing dominance of Formula 1 continued at the Austrian Grand Prix after he put his Red Bull on pole position. The world champion, a winner at six of the first eight races, saw off his rivals at the Red Bull Ring to seal his fourth pole on the spin for today’s 71-lap grand prix. F1 grid: Starting positions for Austrian Grand Prix Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc provided Verstappen with a late scare, but the Monegasque had to settle for second place, crossing the line 0.048 seconds shy of the Dutchman. Carlos Sainz took third in the other scarlet car, while Lando Norris impressed in his revamped McLaren to take fourth spot. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, 0.428 sec adrift. Sergio Perez’s torrid time continued after all three of his laps in Q2 were deleted for track limits. He lines up a lowly 15th on Sunday. Follow live updates from the Austrian GP with The Independent - the race starts at 2pm (BST). Read More Dutch driver Dilano van ‘t Hoff, 18, dies after tragic accident in junior race at Spa F1 grid: Starting positions for Austrian Grand Prix Max Verstappen claims team-mate Sergio Perez pushed him off track in Austria sprint win

Max Verstappen accused Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez of pushing him off the road before going on to win Formula One’s sprint race in Austria. Perez had to settle for second behind Verstappen with Carlos Sainz third for Ferrari. Lando Norris started third but finished only ninth following a poor opening lap, while George Russell and Lewis Hamilton crossed the line in eighth and 10th respectively on an underwhelming day for Mercedes. In damp conditions at the Red Bull Ring, pole-sitter Verstappen fell behind Perez as they blasted away from their marks. Verstappen moved to his right on the run down to the opening corner, but Perez squeezed his way past to take the lead. However, the Mexican ran wide on the exit of the first bend allowing Verstappen the opportunity of a slingshot back past on the straight. Verstappen drew alongside his team-mate but ran out of room, briefly dropping two wheels on the grass. “He pushed me off, man,” yelled Verstappen over the radio. “What the f***.” On the long drag to the third bend, Verstappen still managed to maintain some momentum, launching an aggressive move down the inside of Perez at Turn 3. Verstappen made the pass stick, running on deep into the corner, but Perez felt aggrieved by the move. “What is wrong with Max, man,” he said. From there, Verstappen raced off into the distance, taking the chequered flag 21 sec clear of Perez. Despite his commanding win, Verstappen, who extended his championship lead from 69 to 70 points, took aim at his team-mate again. “That first corner was not really nice,” he said on his way back to the pits. “It could have been a big shunt. We need to have a chat about that. For me it was not OK.” Russell was the first driver to gamble for dry rubber in the changeable conditions. The British driver pulled in on lap 15 and was soon the speediest man on track. Half of the 20-strong field took on slicks, too, but such was the advantage of the leading pack, that they were able to finish the race on the intermediate tyres. However, Russell managed to fight his way back from last after his pit stop to take the final point. Lance Stroll held off Aston Martin team-mate Fernando Alonso to finish fourth with Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg sixth.

Max Verstappen’s crushing dominance of Formula One continued at the Austrian Grand Prix after he put his Red Bull on pole position. The world champion, a winner at six of the first eight races, saw off his rivals at the Red Bull Ring to seal his fourth pole on the spin for Sunday’s 71-lap grand prix. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc provided Verstappen with a late scare, but the Monegasque had to settle for second place, crossing the line 0.048 seconds shy of the Dutchman. F1 grid: Starting positions for Austrian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz took third in the other scarlet car, while Lando Norris impressed in his revamped McLaren to take fourth spot. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, 0.428 sec adrift. Sergio Perez’s torrid time continued after all three of his laps in Q2 were deleted for track limits. He lines up a lowly 15th on Sunday. On Friday, Verstappen clinched pole for Sunday’s grand prix with Charles Leclerc alongside him on the front row, while Sergio Perez and George Russell both struggled. Follow live updates from the Austrian GP with The Independent - the sprint shootout started at 11am (BST). Read More F1 grid: Starting positions for Austrian Grand Prix Max Verstappen claims another pole but Sergio Perez struggles again at Austrian Grand Prix

F1 sprint is set for its biggest ever season this year with six sprint races on the calendar for 2023 - doubling the amount from 2022 and 2021. The 100km Saturday dash, first introduced at the British Grand Prix in 2021, has proven popular with teams and fans alike and will be present at more than a quarter of Grand Prix weekends during the 23-race season. FOLLOW LIVE: F1 sprint shootout updates from the Austrian Grand Prix There was an unanimous agreement to increase the number of sprint events amongst F1 teams at a meeting of the F1 commission meeting last year, following discussions with the FIA and a vote amongst the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC). As it was last year, the F1 sprint is a 100km race with no mandatory pit stops and drivers racing flat-out to the chequered flag. As it was in the 2022 season, the top eight drivers score points, with the driver who finishes P1 receiving eight points. How does the sprint race work? The F1 Commission and the FIA have approved new sprint weekend format changes which will see an extra qualifying session added to the schedule. The new order of play sees a new ‘sprint shootout’ take place on Saturday morning instead of a second practice session, with traditional qualifying on Friday now setting the grid for Sunday’s grand prix. It means there will be just one practice session over the course of the weekend, while Saturday is designated ‘sprint day’. The result of the Saturday sprint – a 100km dash, roughly a third of the distance of the grand prix – will not impact the grid for Sunday, as opposed to the past two years. Points will be awarded to the top-eight, as was the case in 2022. But now, that Friday qualifying session will take on added weight as it will set the grid for Sunday’s grand prix, regardless of what happens in Saturday’s sprint race. On Saturday, instead of what was seen as a generally pointless second practice session on Saturday, a new ‘sprint shootout’ will take place to form the starting grid for the sprint race later in the day. It will follow the same Q1-Q2-Q3 format but the session times will be shorter than traditional qualifying: Q1 will be 12 minutes, Q2 will be 10 minutes and Q3 will be eight minutes. NEW SPRINT WEEKEND FORMAT Friday: Free Practice 1; qualifying (for Sunday’s Grand Prix) Saturday: Sprint qualifying; sprint race (Top-eight receive points, finish order will have no impact on Grand Prix grid) Sunday: Grand Prix How many points are on offer? P1 - Eight points P2 - Seven points P3 - Six points P4 - Five points P5 - four points P6 - three points P7 - two points P8 - one point Where will the sprint races take place this season? There will be six sprint races this season, including at three of the final six Grand Prix weekends. ROUND 4 - AZERBAIJAN Baku City Circuit - 28-30 April Sprint shootout pole: Charles Leclerc Sprint race winner: Sergio Perez ROUND 10 - AUSTRIA Red Bull Ring, Spielberg - 30 June-2 July ROUND 13 - BELGIUM Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - 28-30 July ROUND 18 - QATAR Lusail International Circuit, Lusail - 6-8 October ROUND 19 - UNITED STATES Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 20-22 October ROUND 21 - BRAZIL Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 3-5 November Read More F1 race schedule: What time is the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday? Why have Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney invested in Alpine F1 team? F1’s sprint shake-up could be the beginning of the end for Max Verstappen F1 Austrian Grand Prix LIVE: Sprint shootout updates and times from Red Bull Ring F1 2023 calendar: All 23 Grand Prix this year Made us look like amateurs – Max Verstappen hits out over raft of deleted laps

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Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes must start focusing on next season with Red Bull maintaining their march to F1 title glory this year. Max Verstappen secured victory at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday for Red Bull’s 10th-straight win – and nine from nine in 2023 – while the team also celebrated 100 wins in Formula 1. Christian Horner’s team now lead the constructors’ championship by 154 points to Mercedes, while Verstappen has a 69-point lead in the driver standings to team-mate Sergio Perez. Hamilton, who finished third in Montreal, was satisfied to be fighting with Verstappen and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso at the top of the leaderboard but insists his team must now divert focus to 2024. "I reckon Max’s team are already working on next year’s car, so we need to take our eye a little bit off the ball and focus on next year also but happy to be up there,” he said. "For us to be up there, having battles with Fernando in the Aston, and being on the second row, it’s been great. To be on the podium two races in a row is really fantastic for us. "We were also running fourth in Monaco, so we’re definitely getting closer. And it’s going to be a battle of development over the rest of the season. Hamilton added that, as he continues to pursue a record-breaking eighth world championship, he yearns for the closely-fought battles of his 2021 title battle with Verstappen once again. "It’s likely that they [Red Bull] will win every race, moving forwards, this year, unless the Astons and us put a lot more performance on the cars, or their car doesn’t finish,” the Brit added. "It’s not easy with the regulations to find the amount of performance that they have, advantage-wise. They’ve got to be 30 [downforce] points upon us in certain points through the lap and we’ve got some work to do. "But it’s not that it’s frustrating – I’m happy to firstly be back in the mix and I’m just hoping at some stage we can have it all a little bit more level so we can get back to some of the good races we had back in 2021. To have all three of us in a super-tight battle would be sick." Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes expires at the end of this season but a new deal appears to be in the pipeline in the coming weeks. The 38-year-old will next be in action at the Austrian Grand Prix (30 June - 2 July) before his home race, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, a week later. Read More Are Red Bull now the most successful F1 team ever – and how long can this dominance last? Christian Horner details what makes ‘mega talent’ Max Verstappen so special Lewis Hamilton ‘excited’ to share Canada podium with two world champions Red Bull mastermind Adrian Newey hints at retirement: ‘It’s on a countdown’ Max Verstappen aims to ‘keep winning’ after matching Ayrton Senna’s 41 victories

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At the moment it seems a grand prix does not go by without Red Bull – and their peerless linchpin Max Verstappen – setting milestones and breaking records. Such is their dominance in Formula 1 right now, winning 18 of the last 19 races, the double-symphony of the Dutch and Austrian national anthems on the podium is as much a regularity these days as five red lights going out to start the race. But Canada really did take the biscuit. Red Bull’s 100th race victory; Max Verstappen’s 41st grand prix win, equalling Ayrton Senna’s record; Verstappen brought up 250 consecutive laps led, dating back to Miami six weeks ago; Red Bull’s 10th consecutive victory, including Abu Dhabi at the end of last year. It was notable who was on the podium, too, celebrating Verstappen’s 20th win in his last 27 races. Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s mastermind-in-chief, who was unofficially celebrating his 200thF1 race win involvement, dating back to his first in Mexico 32 years ago. The man extolled, appropriately, with engineering the team’s latest RB missile on four wheels. By this season’s standards, Verstappen’s win in Montreal was far from a cruise. Qualifying on Saturday was tricky in wet-dry-wet conditions. But Max prevailed. An early safety car bunched the pack up on Sunday. But Max prevailed. Tyre wear was an issue in the cockpit with Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton chasing; not on the pit wall who again oozed perfectibility. Again, Max prevailed. No 100 is a significant landmark for the team. An “incredible achievement”, as Christian Horner put it, becoming the fifth team to reach such a figure. When he spearheaded Red Bull’s involvement by taking over Jaguar in 2004, surely even he could not have forecasted such periods of dominance, up against the historic titans of world motorsport. Red Bull have won 28.1% of all the races they’ve entered in the sport as they hit a century. By way of comparison, Ferrari have won 242 races in 1060 – a hit-rate of 22.8%. McLaren’s is lower at 19.6%; Williams’ fewer still at 14.4%. But Mercedes at 44.8% beat the lot. Such was their near-decade of utter dominance – eight constructors’ titles in a row from 2014-2021 – Red Bull have some way to go before their percentage hit-rate matches the Silver Arrows. Currently, the difference is 16.7%. MOST WINS IN FORMULA 1 – 100 CLUB 1) Ferrari – 242 (22.8% hit-rate) 2) McLaren – 183 (19.6% hit-rate) 3) Mercedes – 125 (44.8% hit-rate) 4) Williams – 114 (14.4% hit-rate) 5) Red Bull – 100 (28.1% hit-rate) There are contentious points. For example, included in Mercedes’ tally is the nine wins from 1954-55, technically a different entity to the current works team. Yet on the whole, the difference is stark. But not insurmountable. It’s important to note this with caution. Predicting dynasties in sport is always a dangerous game: jump the gun on a Formula 1 forecast and the usual unpredictability of natural drama and human emotion can come back to bite you. Ferrari, for instance, have won just one drivers’ title in 16 years since their five-on-the-spin with Michael Schumacher in the early noughties. However, the outlook is particularly shiny at Milton Keynes. Red Bull have unequivocally nailed the current “ground-effect” regulations, not least due to Newey’s expertise in the area. This year is virtually sewn-up, with focus already switching to 2024 when they will be the heavy favourites once more. The next phase of regulations are not enforced until 2026. By that point, with Newey having recently signed an extension to stay, Red Bull could have secured another three world titles. It could be another 50 or so wins by that point, such is the current trajectory. And from then, the launch of their own powertrains division comes to fruition, with American giant Ford as a partner. In the constantly-shifting arms race that is Formula 1, Aston Martin, Mercedes, Ferrari and the rest – including new teams such as Audi – may well have something to say about that. Indeed, Red Bull have recently lost a key figure in engineer Rob Marshall, who joins McLaren next year. Dan Fallows similarly joined Aston Martin last year. Newey’s omnipresence is the unignorable advantage. Yet as the sun set in Canada on another victory, did the 64-year-old give Red Bull a scare? And the rest of the paddock a glimmer of hope? “My career can’t go on forever,” he said, post-podium. “As long as the team wants me and I keep enjoying it I’ll keep going. “But realistically it’s on a countdown.” When that time will be, only he knows. What is not in question, however, is the absolute supremacy of this current Red Bull machine. From top-to-bottom, they now set the benchmark. The statistics of the past allude to that; the projection for the future indicate there could be plenty more to come. Read More Max Verstappen wins Canadian Grand Prix to match F1 legend in race wins Red Bull mastermind Adrian Newey hints at retirement: ‘It’s on a countdown’ Lando Norris angry at penalty which cost him points in Canadian Grand Prix ‘It’s on a countdown’: Red Bull mastermind Adrian Newey hints at retirement F1 Canadian Grand Prix LIVE: Race updates and lap times from Montreal