When Max Verstappen’s Red Bull slowed exiting Turn One early in the Austrian Grand Prix, the silence was deafening for more than one reason. With no fans to react, the sound of the power unit cutting out was clear to those trackside, and it felt like the one hope of an exciting race had gone.
How wrong that was.
At that point, Verstappen – starting from second place after Red Bull successfully lobbied for a review of Lewis Hamilton’s yellow flag qualifying infringement – had been settling down behind Valtteri Bottas, who had shown blistering pace on the opening few laps. With the rest of the top ten starting on soft tyres and everyone with a free choice on mediums, Verstappen’s strategy was the anomaly on a hot day in Styria.
