Spielberg, among the hills of Styria, hosts the Austrian Grand Prix, the eleventh round of the 2024 Formula 1 Championship.
4318 metres long, with a difference in altitude of 63.40 metres and 10 curves, the circuit is one of the fastest in the World Championship, featuring three zones DRS consecutive, all in the first half of the circuit.
Furthermore, the Austrian event is also the third in 2024 with the format “Sprint”, consisting of a single free practice session, two timed trials, the race on Saturday and the Grand Prix on Sunday.
For the occasion, Pirelli has chosen the softest compounds in the range: the C5 (Soft), the C4 (Medium) and the C3 (Hard).
Friday
Despite some engine problems, Max Verstappen was the fastest in the only free practice sessions, FP1 on Friday, in 1’05”685 (Soft).
In the afternoon, the Sprint Qualifying – with the obligation of medium compounds in the first two some and the soft ones in the final – saw him at the top of SQ1, in 1’05”690 and of SQ2, in 1’05”186.
In the final SQ3, in fact on the only one runVerstappen stopped the clock at 1’04”686, placing his Red Bull ahead of the cars of Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Carlos Sainz.
On Saturday
Alexander Albon begins the Sprint from the pit lane, on medium tyres, the same as the other nineteen on the grid; the start will be postponed by one lap, shortening the competition by one round.
As the lights went out, Verstappen maintained his lead, leaving the McLarens to battle among themselves and the two Ferraris making great gains: at the end of lap 1, Sainz was fourth, Leclerc (who started tenth) was even seventh, the Monegasque legitimising himself in the first lap thanks to a notable overtaking on Sergio Perez.
In the first phase of the race, Verstappen has his work cut out for him with Lando Norris, as the Briton constantly stays in his wake, so much so that – on lap 5 – he leads the attack into Turn 3, the hairpin Remus.
The Dutchman immediately re-enters Norris’s exhaust and slips it into the following braking, at Schlossgoldarriving slightly wide and thus giving Piastri the opportunity to overtake his teammate in turn.
Always at the Schlossgoldbut on the outside, George Russell on lap 8 snatched fourth position from Sainz – who was having difficulty with the brakes.
After these duels, the top rankings seem to settle, also because the need to save tires and fuel is evident; therefore, we proceed without any other changes among the leaders.
At the end of the 23 laps, the checkered flag salutes the success of Max Verstappen, first in the Sprint by Spielberg, ahead of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Norris also set the fastest lap of the Sprinton lap 2, in 1’08”935.
Points for Russell, Sainz, Hamilton, Leclerc and Perez; Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll closed the Top 10.
We go into qualifying after the mechanics have had the opportunity to work on the single-seaters again.
In Q1, Carlos Sainz placed himself in front of everyone, with a time of 1’05”263 (Soft), a reference lowered by Verstappen for first place in Q2, obtained in 1’04”469 (Soft).
The decisive Q3 sees Verstappen at the provisional top, thanks to 1’04″426 which is the fastest time of the first run.
In the second attempt, the 1997 class still has a margin and improves, in 1’04″314, taking the lead pole positiondavanti a Lando Norris, George Russell, Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, Leclerc.
Oscar Piastri, seventh, had his second timed lap cancelled for exceeding the track limits at turn 6, the Rauchotherwise he would have qualified third.
The race
Zhou Guanyu’s Austrian Sunday saw him start from the pits, the only one on Hardsince the others went on average for the stint initial.
When the traffic lights went out, Verstappen confirmed his lead, while Norris defended himself from Russell, in the stretch between Turn 2, Munzer and the hairpin Remus.
For Leclerc, however, the race risks ending at the first braking: the Monegasque, in fact, collides with Piastri, breaking the front wing and is forced into the pits (for a new nose cone and hard tyres) at the end of lap 1, sliding in the rear
On lap 3, Russell was overtaken by Hamilton, again in turn 3, but in the following sprint he caught up with him and overtook him at the braking point of the fourth turn.
Hamilton doesn’t have the energy to stay with his teammate and indeed on the sixth lap he finds himself fifth, after having given way to Sainz (so as to avoid any penalty, following the trajectory beyond the limits in the starting phases).
Once the whirlwind of stops has begun, Leclerc stops at the end of passage 16, for medium.
In general, the need to save rubber is confirmed, a variable which has repercussions in a step that is certainly not sustained, assisted, by some, by an initial pit stop earlier than expected.
Hamilton and Perez (both for the hard) stop at the end of lap 21, with Sainz and Russell (for the medium, the British driver from Mercedes) at the end of 22, while Verstappen and Norris at the end of 23 (Hard).
Piastri, having spent more time on the track, switches to the hard ones at the end of passage 25.
The noteworthy aspect – with the stops out of the way – is that Hamilton and Perez got a five-second penalty: the Englishman, for having crossed the demarcation line of the pit lane during the pit stop and the Mexican for exceeding the speed limit in the pits.
Right in the pits, Leclerc returns a third time – at the end of lap 34 – confirming the averages.
In the center of the group, it is the skirmishes between Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin and the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon that animate the race, at the same time as Piastri’s rise against Hamilton.
Russell makes his second tyre change at the end of lap 46, on the hards, with Sainz (mediums) following suit on the following lap.
Piastri, meanwhile, caught up with Hamilton and overtook him on lap 48, inside the Remus.
Three laps later (end of 51), Verstappen is in the pits, as are Norris, Piastri, Perez, Leclerc, all on medium tyres; at the end of 53 it’s Hamilton’s turn (with the penalty served), also on medium tyres. Medium.
However, upon returning to the track after the break – after having also been stationary for six and a half seconds, due to a faulty left rear tyre – Verstappen was no longer the same.
This is highlighted on the re-entry lap (number 52), when he reaches the block at the bend Schlossogoldbraking too hard, until it almost touches the external escape route.
The Red Bull driver’s lack of grip helps Norris’s progression, thanks to the three strong zones DRS consecutive: on lap 59, at Remusthe Englishman postpones his braking and throws himself inside the Red Bull but arrives very long, in the escape route and lets Verstappen pass again.
The study phase continues, with another warning on lap 61 then, the next step – back to Remus – Norris gets back in, but Verstappen brakes even later, goes wide and stays ahead of him under acceleration.
On lap 64 the big twist: Norris tries again and extends the braking at the hairpin, this time taking the outside line and then crossing the trajectory on the exit of the corner, but Verstappen repeats the move under braking, to close that space.
Thus, the left rear of the Red Bull and the right rear of the McLaren collide, causing a puncture.
With the cars unbalanced, both have to return to the pits – at the end of the same passage – with the Briton taking a five-second penalty for having repeatedly exceeded the limits of the track: the Dutchman mounts the Soft and he starts again, unlike Norris, who was forced to retire.
Russell takes advantage of the great confusion and finds himself in the lead, while on lap 65 Piastri snatches second place from Sainz, with an overtaking move on the outside of the Rauch.
Verstappen (who dropped to fifth) was found responsible for the accident and was given a ten second penalty.
There is still room (lap 66) for a virtual neutralization, thanks to the debris scattered on the track.
The neutralization, however, does not affect the record of the Briton from Mercedes, who limited himself to managing.
At the end of the 71 scheduled laps, the checkered flag salutes the second career victory of George Russell, ahead of Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz, on the podium with Ferrari.
Behind them, Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen (the penalty had no effect) and a great Nico Hulkenberg with Haas, strenuously defending himself from Sergio Perez, seventh, in another close battle that took place on the final lap; points also for Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo (Racing Bulls) and Pierre Gasly.
Leclerc stopped just outside the points zone, eleventh, one place better than Esteban Ocon.
The fastest lap was set by Fernando Alonso, on the penultimate lap, in 1’07”694 but the Spaniard, lapped, finished eighteenth – outside the top ten – and therefore the bonus point was not awarded.
Formula 1 does not stop and next weekend it will be on track again, at Silverstone, for the British Grand Prix.
Lorenzo Proietti
Lorenzo Proietti on Barbadillo.it
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