Spielberg bei Knittelfeld (Austria) (AFP)

Lewis Hamilton predicted an easy victory: Max Verstappen still finished far ahead in Austria, on "his" Red Bull Ring, offering himself a third Grand Prix in a row, on the road to a possible first world title in Formula 1 .

Three victories from pole position in three weeks: in France, then twice in Austria, Verstappen (Red Bull) has just achieved the first hat-trick of his career.

In the championship, he stands out with 32 points ahead of Hamilton (Mercedes), 4th Sunday behind Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) and Lando Norris (McLaren).

"The car was unreal, it took a great job from the whole team to reach this level. These two weeks have been incredible," said Verstappen who had won in France and then won the Styrian Grand Prix so easily here. , seven days ago.

Admittedly 14 races remain to be contested.

But the advantage taken by Red Bull and its rising star is now substantial.

Both in pure arithmetic and in terms of performance against Mercedes who cannot find the solution.

- First since 2016 -

Hamilton and Mercedes have time to find it: the seven-time world champion has just signed a new contract until 2023. But if he wants to become from 2021 the most successful in history, ahead of Michael Schumacher (7 crowns), Sir Lewis will have to work ... and hope for Verstappen's missteps.

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Because the Dutchman has just won his 5th race in nine rounds in 2021. His 15th Grand Prix victory places him in the closed circle of the twenty most victorious drivers in history.

He equals the English Jenson Button, 2009 world champion.

Hamilton is still far ahead in this pantheon and will aim for a stratospheric 99th victory at home, in two weeks at Silverstone, in what is already shaping up to be a crucial moment of this season.

But there is work: this is the first time since 2016 that the Englishman has let victory slip away in five consecutive races.

However, in 2016, Hamilton was beaten by his teammate Nico Rosberg.

The only year he has lost the title since 2014.

At the same time, Mercedes is also left behind among manufacturers by the Austrian brand (286 points against 242), which has achieved five successes for the first time since the introduction of the hybrid era in 2014.

From the first lap, Verstappen set off as a scout.

But behind, the race was lively: a collision at the back of the peloton between Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) caused the Frenchman to retire and a penalty for the Italian.

Above all, it prompted the exit of the safety car which, once returned to the pits, offered a second start to the many fans.

Taking advantage of Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) going off the track, pushed into the gravel by Norris, Hamilton then passed 3rd.

- Norris, pilot of the day -

In this battle between two generations of English pilots, experience first spoke to the youth.

Norris, penalized by five seconds for too aggressive defense on Pérez, was first passed by Hamilton.

“What a driver this Lando is,” Hamilton greeted respectfully after passing him.

But Norris did not give up and ended up coming back in front, taking advantage of a struggling Hamilton.

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Very popular, the smiling Norris was elected driver of the day: "It was a good race but I'm disappointed because we should have been 2nd. Frustrated but still happy with this podium".

For the first time this season, a Grand Prix took place in front of full stands.

With the overwhelming majority of Verstappen fans from the Netherlands: the famous Oranje Army.

Restrictions related to the Covid-19 epidemic ended on July 1 in Austria.

Before stepping onto the podium, Verstappen greeted them: "So many orange in the stands, it's incredible, it was additional motivation".

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Sergio Pérez (Red Bull), Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) and Fernando Alonso (Alpine) completed the Top 10.

© 2021 AFP