This is what you need to know about the Austrian Grand Prix

By winning the first of two races in Austria last weekend, the 23-year-old from the Netherlands increased his lead in the overall standings to 18 points. The youngster also has an advantage at the second Grand Prix on Sunday (15 p.m.) at the Red Bull Ring. Will Max Verstappen become the sole record winner in Austria? With three triumphs, the World Cup challenger has already drawn level with the Frenchman Alain Prost. If Verstappen crosses the finish line first again, he would hold the record alone. Max Verstappen is currently the benchmark in Formula 1. © APA/afp / JOE KLAMAR

Nobody seems to be able to stop him on the way there. Verstappen was confidently ahead for every second of the race last Sunday. The course suits his car, and Verstappen is simply not making any mistakes at the moment. For the first time in his career, he has already won four times in one year - and there are still 15 races to come. Can Hamilton and Mercedes finally counter? There is not much to suggest that there is significant progress. While Red Bull is continually improving its current car, the Silver Arrows are already concentrating heavily on the future. Since there will be completely new regulations from 2022, there is a lot to do. Toto Wolff, Head of Motorsport at Mercedes, also made it clear that they would not deviate from this path. Although there is still a tough fight for the title, it is more important to be as well positioned as possible with a view to the coming years. But this wouldn't mean that the World Cup would be written off, according to the Austrians. Are things looking up for Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher? Four-time world champion Vettel was dissatisfied with his twelfth place at the Red Bull Ring. He had no chance in the midfield because of the rapidly deteriorating tires and is now hoping for improvement. Sebastian Vettel has not yet been happy at Aston Martin. © APA / GEORG HOCHMUTH

Whether Aston Martin will really find a way to continue to work its way forward remains to be seen. The key to an improvement should be a good qualifying and an improved starting position for the Grand Prix. Schumacher achieved the maximum in 16th place, but the newcomer in the Haas car is unlikely to be able to move further forward. What else is special in Spielberg this week? The stands are getting crowded again. Due to Corona easing in Austria, the previous spectator restrictions are no longer applicable. It is expected that there will be 15.000 fans on Friday, 30.000 on Saturday and 60.000 on Sunday. There were only around 15.000 spectators on site for the first race the previous week. “We have to get back to normality, major events are part of that,” said Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz during a visit to Spielberg on Sunday. A particularly large number of Dutch people are expected to support Verstappen.

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This is what you need to know about the Austrian Grand Prix

Can Mercedes dominance in Formula 1 be finally broken? Title hunter Max Verstappen is threatening to overtake world champion Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1.

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