Which Formula 1 driver made the most of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend?
It’s time to give your verdict on which driver did the best with the equipment at their disposal over the last three days.
Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most at Red Bull Ring.
Driver performance summary
| Driver | Q stage | Q position | Q gap to team mate | SR grid position | SR result | GP grid position | GP result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | Q3 | 1 | -61.737s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sergio Perez | Q2 | 15 | +61.737s | 2 | 2 | 15 | 3 |
| Charles Leclerc | Q3 | 2 | -0.142s | 9 | 12 | 2 | 2 |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | Q3 | 3 | +0.142s | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Lewis Hamilton | Q3 | 5 | -0.240s | 18 | 10 | 5 | 7 |
| George Russell | Q2 | 11 | +0.240s | 15 | 8 | 11 | 8 |
| Esteban Ocon | Q2 | 12 | +0.145s | 8 | 7 | 12 | 12 |
| Pierre Gasly | Q3 | 9 | -0.145s | 12 | 15 | 9 | 9 |
| Lando Norris | Q3 | 4 | -0.567s | 3 | 9 | 4 | 5 |
| Oscar Piastri | Q2 | 13 | +0.567s | 17 | 11 | 13 | 17 |
| Valtteri Bottas | Q2 | 14 | -0.055s | 19 | 20 | 14 | 16 |
| Zhou Guanyu | Q1 | 17 | +0.055s | 16 | 19 | 17 | 14 |
| Lance Stroll | Q3 | 6 | -0.018s | 7 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| Fernando Alonso | Q3 | 7 | +0.018s | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Kevin Magnussen | Q1 | 19 | +0.231s | 10 | 14 | 19 | 19 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | Q3 | 8 | -0.231s | 4 | 6 | 8 | Not classified |
| Nyck de Vries | Q1 | 20 | +0.190s | 14 | 17 | 20 | 15 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | Q1 | 16 | -0.190s | 13 | 16 | 16 | 18 |
| Alexander Albon | Q3 | 10 | -0.275s | 11 | 13 | 10 | 11 |
| Logan Sargeant | Q1 | 18 | +0.275s | 20 | 18 | 18 | 13 |
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Vote for your driver of the weekend
Which driver do you think did the best job throughout the race weekend?
Who got the most out of their car in qualifying and the race? Who put their team mate in the shade?
Cast your vote below and explain why you chose the driver you picked in the comments.
Vote for your 2023 Austrian Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend
- No opinion (0%)
- Logan Sargeant (1%)
- Alexander Albon (2%)
- Yuki Tsunoda (0%)
- Nyck de Vries (0%)
- Kevin Magnussen (0%)
- Nico Hulkenberg (3%)
- Fernando Alonso (0%)
- Lance Stroll (0%)
- Guanyu Zhou (0%)
- Valtteri Bottas (0%)
- Oscar Piastri (1%)
- Lando Norris (44%)
- Pierre Gasly (0%)
- Esteban Ocon (0%)
- George Russell (0%)
- Lewis Hamilton (2%)
- Carlos Sainz Jnr (11%)
- Charles Leclerc (3%)
- Sergio Perez (6%)
- Max Verstappen (28%)
Total Voters: 103
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2023 Austrian Grand Prix
- Mercedes left scratching heads by lack of performance at Austrian GP
- Verstappen’s determination to grab every point makes him a record-breaker
- Austrian GP track limits farce was avoidable like ‘IndyGate’ and Spa 2021 – Brown
- Alpine now “definitely beatable” for McLaren after upgrade – Brown
- Paddock Diary: 2023 Austrian Grand Prix
Debates and polls
- Will Verstappen race on with Red Bull until the end of 2028?
- Will Alonso win a world championship title with Aston Martin?
- How long should Red Bull give Ricciardo to prove he’s not lost his touch?
- Were stewards right to penalise Alonso over his driving before Russell’s crash?
- Are Williams right to bench Sargeant so Albon can race after crash?
elchinero (@elchinero)
2nd July 2023, 15:51
Sainz-Perez battle … had to end, I guess. Top-of-the-line drivers.
BasCB (@bascb)
2nd July 2023, 16:30
Yeah, that battle really was one to remember. We did get another few really solid battles too today, overall this track seems to provide good scope for racing
MarkH
2nd July 2023, 16:49
Perez could have done it in the first attempt if he was wise enough to get the second DRS. Het got it in the end
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd July 2023, 1:50
Absolutely, that was my favourite battle ever so far, and yes, sometimes we had double overtakes in the same straight by drivers, really eventful; I was impressed by sainz here.
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd July 2023, 15:53
DOTW: VER, DOTD: NOR
MacLeod (@macleod)
2nd July 2023, 22:01
+1 i agree with this.
Illusive (@illusive)
2nd July 2023, 16:32
Has to be Max, got the Max points available this weekend, grand slam, looked untouchable as always.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
2nd July 2023, 16:40
Without doubt it has to be Max. I didn’t watch the Sprint Race, but Max walked away from this weekend with all the points on offer – Sprint = 8 pts + Race = 25 pts + 1 pt for the Fastest Lap.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd July 2023, 1:48
Well, if that’s your opinion not having watched the sprint, we can add that verstappen was dominating the sprint, had like 20 sec margin on the 2nd driver, and that’s a lot for 1\3 of a race: he was so dominant that he was only losing 2 sec per lap on intermediates on the drivers who had already warmed up their slicks on an almost dry track, the others were losing 4-5 sec; he could’ve easily reacted and put slicks on and be bad on the lead very quickly, but didn’t have to.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd July 2023, 1:49
back in the lead*
melanos
2nd July 2023, 16:42
No points for best and hardest whingeing?
ryanoceros (@ryanoceros)
3rd July 2023, 16:45
Different category, not driver of the weekend.
If I'm not wery much mistaken (@ifiamnotwerymuchmistaken)
2nd July 2023, 17:09
Sainz, for making an effort to defend the undefendable. Without the DRS it would’ve been a better race overall. A better sport.
Norris had a good race too.
Mayrton
3rd July 2023, 12:05
Yeah, but I still can’t decide whether Sainz was good or Perez just poor given what his car seems capable of.. or is it just Max that gets that out of that car?
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
2nd July 2023, 18:27
I liked what I saw from Carlos and Sergio on Sunday, but the driver of the weekend is Max, for a dominating performance, whatever be the track condition or the tyre. This Red Bull car is mega and looks ominous in the hands of Max.
CarWars (@maxv)
2nd July 2023, 21:45
Max will probably score a 7 for this weekend
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd July 2023, 1:45
Should be at least an 8 I think.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd July 2023, 1:45
Norris, sainz, verstappen, leclerc at least did a good job, from verstappen it’s expected also because of the car he has, leclerc didn’t have to fight a lot and apart from race and quali didn’t have a great weekend, I was impressed by sainz, he seemed on it all weekend and defended incredibly well from perez, it was the best “overtake” I ever saw, I put quotes cause sainz kept the position eventually on that occasion, norris maximised the performance of the mclaren, also kept within sainz’s drs for a few laps, which made him gain a lot as ferrari was significantly quicker this race, so I went for norris, but sainz was a candidate too for me.
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
3rd July 2023, 4:03
Why would Norris be leading the pole? he had upgrades, piastri didn’t, oh yes l forgot the reason!!
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage (@davedai)
3rd July 2023, 4:25
Driver of the day Max Verstappen.🏁
Driver of the weekend Shane van Gisbergen 🏁
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage (@davedai)
3rd July 2023, 4:32
Or Max again.🎯
GmP (@gmp)
3rd July 2023, 5:53
Oops, made a mistake. Voted for Albon, was intended for Norris.
Objectively I’m find that Max was the best the whole weekend and race day. What could he have done better, or what did he do wrong? However, Norris gets my vote because he is getting results better than the car is. Plus he nailed Hamilton for track violations, that counts in my book. (Kidding).
Facts&Stats
3rd July 2023, 11:35
It might be the car though (to some or a large extent), as only his McLaren had the upgrade package.
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
4th July 2023, 22:21
How do you bench mark a car, with upgrades and say he drove better than his car?