Charles Leclerc holds off Max Verstappen to win the Austrian Grand Prix

It was not the result those who lit orange flares had come to savour, but the one the world championship needed – victory in a dramatic, fire-lit Austrian Grand Prix for Charles Leclerc.

The Ferrari man thrice passed the Dutch partisans’ favourite Max Verstappen, who finished in second place, to record his first win since a sunlit afternoon in Melbourne eight races and three months to the day ago.

But the most dramatic moment came on lap 57 in the other Ferrari, when Carlos Sainz suffered an engine blowout. He parked up in the gravel as flames started to billow out of the back.

Charles Leclerc was delighted to get back on the top step of the podium on Sunday

Leclerc got the better of Max Verstappen to win the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring

Verstappen had to settle for second place despite a late push for victory

He tried to clamber out of the cockpit but his car was situated on a slope and started to roll back. The task of getting out was like walking up a hill, momentum working against him. There is no handbrake to pull in this world. Instead, it was only to be hoped that the marshals could come to his rescue in time.

Truth is that they didn’t threaten the 100-metre world record.

But a marshal finally arrived to put a blocker under the front-right wheel and that partly arrested the slow roll back.

Sainz finally clambered out and ran to safety, sitting on the side contemplating both his ill-luck and his happy deliverance.

There was late heartbreak for Carlos Sainz as his engine exploded, causing his car to catch fire

Sainz’s misfortune allowed Lewis Hamilton to finish in third place for Mercedes

Up until this point, the Scuderia had found their form – sheer pace, brisk pit-stops, optimal strategy, and in Leclerc an assurance of touch that cuts his deficit to Verstappen to 38 points at the midway point of the 22-round season.

Verstappen started on pole position after winning the sprint race on Saturday, but Leclerc was after him like a greyhound chasing a rabbit. The Monegasque tried to make an overtake stick on lap 10, but the world champion resisted.

Two laps later, though, Leclerc darted down the inside of the right-hand Turn 4 and he was gone.

Red Bull had to try something different. They brought in Verstappen for an early change of boots, on lap 13. When Leclerc came in on lap 26, the Dutchman took the lead. The crowd, most of them decked out in orange, cheered.

Sergio Perez went into the gravel on the first lap after colliding with George Russell

He failed to recover from the setback, leading to Red Bull retiring Perez’s car

But it was not to last, with Leclerc passing Verstappen on lap 33. ‘The car is so unpredictable,’ said Verstappen after losing out at Turn 3. ‘It’s so crazy.’

Both men pitted once more. Verstappen yielded the lead for the final time on lap 53 to his red tormentor.

Leclerc went on to win, 1.5sec ahead of Verstappen with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton third – 41sec off the winner – for the second consecutive week. He went to the podium via eighth on the grid.

Russell put the collision with Perez behind him and went on to finish in third place

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez made Hamilton’s job easier when he retired, after an early dink from George Russell.

Russell had to stop for a new front wing, took a five-second penalty for his part in the collision and went down to 19th. He finished fourth.

Sainz’s retirement also aided Hamilton, but the Briton was responsible for two good passes on the Haas pair of Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen in the early stages of the afternoon.

Leclerc complained about his throttle late on, following the virtual safety car phase brought about by Sainz’s fire, but it made no difference.

Verstappen set the fastest lap and took the extra point as a consolation.

Follow Sportsmail’s live blog as the Formula One campaign continues at the Austrian Grand Prix.