We had deluded ourselves that Max Verstappen, strong with three world titles, the current leadership in the world championship, the many victories and poles achieved, had matured and that the bully behaviors behind the wheel, which have long characterized his career in F1, were now part of the past. There have been races, recently, in which the Dutchman has been able to manage himself calmly, avoiding excesses, even settling for a position below the podium without taking unnecessary risks. But even in the sprint race on Saturday, in the duel with Lando Norris, no particular risky behaviors were recorded.
But evidently, that little habit hasn’t gone away inside him. In the final laps of the Austrian GP, Verstappen put on display his ancient repertoire. The worst one. Change of trajectory when braking when the opponent (in this case Lando Norris) attempted to overtake, repeated three consecutive times. Rotated at McLaren when he completely flanked him on the left. But in this case it went badly for him. Because the left rear tire of his Red Bull stalled and what’s more, when Norris, having taken off again behind the Red Bull, attempted to overtake at speed, Verstappen, although now on three wheels, accompanied him onto the grass, forcing the now a former friend to a sudden stop.
Why did this happen? Verstappen had calmly led until the moment of the second pit stop when an error, very rare on the part of the Red Bull team, occurred when changing tyres. The left rear did not come out immediately, there was hesitation and the loss of precious moments. Once back on the track, Norris, who was constantly traveling 6-7 seconds behind the leader, found him a few hundred meters ahead. And he wasted no time in going on the attack. But compared to the Sprint race, Verstappen reacted in the worst way. Maybe because he felt he didn’t have the car capable of resisting the McLaren? And because, all things considered, if he himself was not able to defend himself correctly, he was not satisfied with second position, which would have changed him little for the purposes of the world championship ranking.
And instead, Verstappen’s worst nature emerged, which if put seriously under pressure in the fight for victory, leads to negative, incorrect behaviour. A bad show of him, terrible. And the race direction was terrible, giving him just a 10 second penalty instead of something heavier, as he would have deserved. The funny thing is that Norris was also penalized, for track limits. By retiring because he too had the tyre, the right one, completely stalled, the Englishman did not pay for them and now risks finding himself with a penalty at Silverstone. Totally unfair.
Here in an instant the friendship between Verstappen and Norris is probably over. Lando said that if the Dutchman admits to being stupid and admits to being unfair, he will continue to respect him. Otherwise, goodbye. Verstappen, for his part, in his classic and totally personal interpretation of things, said he was attacked by Norris. We will see if there will be a clarification in the next few hours.
In any case, we feel like welcoming Norris to Verstappen’s world. Kimi Raikkonen, Carlos Sainz, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, are some of those who have been taken for a ride in recent years and defined as old or incompetent by the Dutchman.
So, how did it end? That Russell won, bringing Mercedes back to success, something that had not happened since the 2022 Brazilian GP. An unexpected victory, certainly, but one that brought some serenity to the heart of Toto Wolff. Russell certainly had a remarkable race, spirited in the early stages, and was in the right place at the right time.
Second position for an excellent Oscar Piastri, who somehow managed to keep the McLaren-Mercedes on the podium. A great recovery from him, from the fourth row, and a beautiful overtaking on Sergio Perez who will be remembered. For Piastri it is the third second place in his career after Lusail 2023 and Monte Carlo 2024. Nice and spirited performance for Sainz, third with Ferrari. He dueled with Russell, then with Lewis Hamilton and got the better of the seven-time world champion. For Sainz it is the fifth podium of the season which allows him to consolidate fourth place in the general classification. Hamilton fourth, without too much glory, with a penalty for not respecting the white entry line into the pit lane.
And Leclerc? Having started badly, he left the field open on the right and was joined by Perez on the straight leading to the first braking point. He took care of Piastri, on the left, but ended up finding himself between the two of them. He was unable to tap on the brakes to get out of the jam, so Piastri swerved and damaged the Ferrari’s front wing. Dropped into the last positions, Leclerc climbed back up with dedication to finish 11th, out of the points.
Memorable sixth place for Nico Hulkenberg with Haas-Ferrari that also saw Kevin Magnussen in the points zone, eighth. A sensational result for the American team that in one fell swoop collects 12 points overtaking Alpine in the constructors’ championship and becoming seventh. The Renault group team settles for an unconvincing tenth place this time, with Pierre Gasly. Between him and Esteban Ocon, once again excessive, inopportune sparks were seen again. Good instead, Racing Bulls-Honda that with Daniel Ricciardo in good form obtains ninth position. Deep night for Aston Martin, Williams and Sauber.
Sunday 30 June 2024, race
1 – George Russell (Mercedes) – 71 giri
2 – Oscar Piastri (McLaren-Mercedes) – 1″906
3 – Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – 4″533
4 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 23″142
5 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) – 37″253
6 – Nico Hulkenberg (Haas-Ferrari) – 54″088
7 – Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) – 54″672
8 – Kevin Magnussen (Haas-Ferrari) – 1’00″335
9 – Daniel Ricciardo (Racing Bulls-Honda) – 1’01″169
10 – Pierre Gasly (Alpine-Renault) – 1’01″766
11 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1’07″056
12 – Esteban Ocon (Alpine-Renault) – 1’08″325
13 – Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) – 1 giro
14 – Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls-Honda) – 1 giro
15 – Alexander Albon (Williams-Mercedes) – 1 round
16 – Valtteri Bottas (Sauber-Ferrari) – 1 giro
17 – Guan Yu Zhou (Sauber-Ferrari) – 1 giro
18 – Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin-Mercedes) – 1 lap
19 – Logan Sargeant (Williams-Mercedes) – 1 giro
Withdrawn
Lando Norris
The drivers’ championship
1.Verstappen 237: 2.Norris 156; 3.Leclerc 150; 4.Sainz 135; 5.Perez 118; 6.Piastri 112; 7.Russell 111; 8.Hamilton 85; 9.Alonso 41; 10.Tsunoda 19; 11.Stroll 17; 12.Hulkenberg 14; 13.Ricciardo 11; 14.Bearman, Gasly 6; 16.Magnussen 5; 17.Ocon 3; 18.Albon 2.
The constructors’ championship
1.Red Bull-Honda 355; 2.Ferrari 291; 3.McLaren-Mercedes 268; 4.Mercedes 196; 5.Aston Martin-Mercedes 58; 6.Racing Bulls-Honda 30; 7.Haas-Ferrari 19; 8.Alpine-Renault 9; 9.Williams-Mercedes 2.
