Charles Leclerc kept Ferrari’s momentum alive at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday 30th June, securing a solid third-place finish amid searing heat and a chaotic early start that reshuffled the grid at Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring.
Leclerc, who qualified second, lost out to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri off the line and remained in third for the remainder of the 71-lap contest. Still, the Monegasque star drove a composed and confident race to claim his fourth podium of the season and edge Ferrari back into second in the Constructors’ Championship standings.
A dramatic start to a high-stakes race
The action began before the lights even went out. Carlos Sainz was unable to get off the grid for the formation lap, forcing a 15-minute delay. When the race finally got underway, a collision between Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli and World Champion Max Verstappen brought out the Safety Car and ended both drivers’ races immediately.
That opening chaos handed the advantage to the McLaren pair, with Lando Norris converting pole position into the lead, and Oscar Piastri sweeping past Leclerc for second. From there, the top three settled into a rhythm, with strategy and tyre management becoming key as track temperatures soared.
“We don’t have any regrets today,” said Leclerc post-race. “We gave it everything and extracted the maximum from our race. I pushed a lot on the first stint and had quite a bit of degradation, but that’s part of the game. We will continue to work hard to make more progress with the aim of getting back onto the top step of the podium.”
Podium sealed as Ferrari close in
Leclerc and teammate Lewis Hamilton, who finished fourth, ran near-identical strategies: starting on Mediums, switching to Hards, and finishing on a second set of Mediums. The upgraded Ferrari package allowed the pair to comfortably hold off challengers from behind, though they couldn’t match the pace of the leading McLarens.
Deputising for Team Principal Fred Vasseur, who was absent for personal reasons, Jérôme d’Ambrosio praised the team’s composure under pressure.
“We can be happy with this result. For a while now, Fred’s been saying we just need to put everything together and have a clean weekend—and that’s what we did,” said d’Ambrosio. “The gap to McLaren is still big, especially during the race, but we’ll keep on pushing.”
Ferrari’s 27-point haul helped them reclaim second in the Constructors’ Championship, overtaking Red Bull by a narrow margin. Leclerc’s podium was the 47th of his career and marked Scuderia Ferrari’s 833rd.
Lando Norris took the victory ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, sealing McLaren’s third one-two finish of the season.
A Monaco return looms
With the Austrian Grand Prix behind them, the Formula 1 circus now heads to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix from 4th to 6th July. Leclerc will be hoping Ferrari can maintain their progress and mount a serious challenge to McLaren’s recent dominance.
As for Leclerc, the home crowd in Monaco will be watching closely. With Ferrari’s upgrades delivering clear improvements and Leclerc’s consistency shining through, hopes are high for more podiums—and maybe that elusive first win of the season.
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Photo source: Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre