Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz demoted after Austrian Grand Prix penalty chaos

The classification for the Austrian Grand Prix changed some five hours after the chequered flag after 12 drivers were penalised post-race and given time penalties for exceeding track limits

Lewis Hamilton is among the drivers who have been demoted in position for the Austrian Grand Prix after a raft of time penalties were added some five hours after the chequered flag.

Max Verstappen comfortably won his fifth race in a row, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc coming home second and Sergio Perez finishing third.

While the podium remained unchanged, Sainz was given a 10-second time penalty – dropping him from fourth to sixth – while Hamilton was given the same punishment, shifting him down a place to P8.

McLaren’s Lando Norris subsequently moves up to fourth and Fernando Alonso up a spot to fifth.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly also had 10 seconds added on to his final time, dropping him down to 10^th from ninth, swapping spots with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.

Esteban Ocon was given an astonishing 30-second time penalty post-race, with the Williams pairing of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant given 10-second punishments.

Finally, the AlphaTauri duo of Nyck de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda were punished with 15 and five seconds respectively.

FINAL AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX RACE CLASSIFICATION

1. Max Verstappen

2. Charles Leclerc

3. Sergio Perez

4. Lando Norris

5. Fernando Alonso

6. Carlos Sainz

7. George Russell

8. Lewis Hamilton

9. Lance Stroll

10. Pierre Gasly

11. Alex Albon

12. Zhou Guanyu

13. Logan Sargeant

14. Esteban Ocon

15. Valtteri Bottas

16. Oscar Piastri

17. Nyck De Vries

18. Kevin Magnussen

19. Yuki Tsunoda

20. Nico Hulkenberg

It marked a chaotic and befuddling end to a weekend where nearly every driver was warned and punished for exceeding track limits, particularly at turns 9 and 10.

In Sunday’s race, there were a vast total of 83 lap times deleted throughout the 71-lap grand prix. An Aston Martin appeal triggered the raft of penalties and positional changes.

The FIA noted in their final assessment: "The Stewards very strongly recommend that a solution be found to the track limits situation at this circuit.”

A gravel trap on the outside of the final corner – turn 10 – was recommended by the race director last year and now looks a likely addition at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.

The track and event signed a new deal with F1 on Sunday, extending their partnership until 2030.