This year is shaping up to be one of the most controversial Formula One seasons in recent memory, and yesterday saw another race result that will be debated long after the dust has settled.

It’s only been three weeks since the Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton drama of the Canadian Grand Prix, where Vettel suffered what many called “one of Formula One’s most memorable meltdowns”.

Luckily, neither of those drivers were in the thick of the action at yesterday’s Austrian Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc taking centre stage.

It took a full three hours after the race for stewards to consider whether to let Max’s last-ditch pass on Leclerc stand. Here’s the Guardian:

As fake steward’s documents were released on to social media, rumour and counter-rumour swept the paddock but the stewards were clearly poring over this with intense scrutiny before deciding that neither driver was predominantly responsible for their contact and that it was a racing incident…

The race had looked as if it belonged to Leclerc, who had started on pole and led with a commanding drive for the majority of laps. Verstappen and his team were having none of it, however, and with a strong strategy and some aggressive driving Verstappen threaded his way through the pack before delivering the coup de grâce on the frustrated Monegasque driver with only two laps to go.

Given that Verstappen has a history of losing his cool, it’s probably a good thing the stewards ruled in his favour.

It was a serious power play, and also great for the sport to see two of the younger guns battling for the win:

For those who want the full race highlights, we shall oblige:

Speaking after the race, Leclerc voiced his disapproval with the overtaking, and the subsequent decision to hand Verstappen the win.

This from the official F1 site:

Leclerc, unsurprisingly, didn’t see it the same way as his rival. “I’ll let the stewards decide but for me, it was pretty clear in the car,” he said in parc ferme. “I don’t know how it looked like from the outside.”

When asked if he didn’t think it was fair, Leclerc replied: “I don’t know. I was on the outside, like the lap before, the lap before was completely fine, he left the space for a car width on the exit of the corner but he didn’t on the other lap so we touched and I had to go wide, and then obviously I didn’t have any chance to pass back so it’s a shame.”

To finish, let’s take a quick look at the driver standings:

Lewis Hamilton will take some catching.

For the full standings, you can head here.

[sources:guardian&formula1]