There were all the cards to make the Austrian GP one of the most monotonous events of the championship. Verstappen who started from pole position and who, at Red Bull’s home, would have even sold his mother to finish the race on the top step of the podium. And instead a contact turned the race upside down. At the end of the Austrian GP Verstappen touches Norris, the Englishman is forced to retire and the Dutchman gets a ten second penalty. Mercedes is back on the top step of the podium but, as one might imagine, not with that old fox Lewis Hamilton but with the young George Russell who, race after race, is increasingly beacon of the German stable.
And if Red Bull had no reason to smile on the Spielberg track, Ferrari is in the same situation. The Prancing Horse, which after the disappointments of Canada and Spain was called to the rescue, back on the podium with Sainz who however ends up among the best three only and exclusively thanks to the mistakes of the others.
Mercedes
We wrote it last time. The Mercedes she was close to returning on the top step of the podium but, with practically a week to go, no one would have imagined with such a short timescale. Ok, Russell won and if he did it for sure also thanks to the contact between Verstappen and Norris but Mercedes was just behind, ready to take advantage and George did not let the opportunity slip away. The British driver, author of a consistent race, managed to bring home the first victory of the season for Mercedes without taking too many risks in the final laps. The 26-year-old, in addition to the victory, can take home the satisfaction of having once again managed to beat his more famous teammate on both Saturday and Sunday.
Hamilton, himself, will have had it at the end of the race so much to recriminate. First of all, starting from the penalty (he simply crossed the pit lane) that made him finish behind Sainz’s Ferrari. And if Russell is gloating, and who can argue with him, Hamilton he can only blame himself for the missed opportunity. Finishing on the podium in the Austrian GP was possible and giving Mercedes their first double of the season would have been really important for the German team.
McLaren
Second place goes to McLaren by right, although Norris was forced to retire at the Red Bull Ring. McLaren it’s no longer a surprise. It is officially the second (or first, who knows) force in the World Championship and certainly the only one that can claim the title of anti-Red Bull. After eleven races we can talk about confirmation and the repeated podiums that Norris (even if this didn’t happen in Austria) and Piastri are bringing home are proof of this.
It looked like McLaren could win the Austrian GP too but everything changed on lap 52 from a slow stop by Verstappen and the subsequent approach by the English driver. Norris and Verstappen brought to life an endless challengea continuous exchange that reached its peak on the 65th lap when, due to contact between the two, Norris got the worst of it and was forced to retire.
If, perhaps, more patience and coolness would have allowed the Englishman to strike a more precise attack on the Dutchman and, why not, being able to overtake him and win the race, when Norris is out of the race, Piastri took care of keeping McLaren’s name high.
The Australian comes close to the feat with the MCL38 and once again, despite the mistake in qualifying that compromised his chances of victory, with great regularity and coolness he managed to finish behind Russell. His palmarès all that’s missing is victory. But that will come. And soon.
Ferrari
Ferrari’s objective was one. To arrive in Austria with the imperative of regain competitiveness. The situation, unfortunately for the Reds and their fans, in addition to not having changed one iota also appears more complicated than expected. And the problem is not just the SF-24 or the upgrades that didn’t work as expected at the Maranello headquarters.
In seven days we will race at Silverstone and it seems truly impossible that Ferrari can make up the ground in such a short time available. The Prancing Horse managed to return to the podium with Sainz, yet this third place more than thanks to the pilot we can say we have arrived, dropped from the skythanks to the contact that occurred between Norris and Verstappen. But if Carlos deserves credit for having managed to put himself in a position to take advantage of what was happening in front of him, Leclerc’s is precisely a weekend to forget.
The Monegasque driver after the victory in the Principality seems to have been lost. He makes a mistake in qualifying which forces him to start from sixth position, his race is compromised at the start when his car has contact with Piastri’s McLaren. The broken front wing forces the Monegasque to immediately return to the pits. From that moment on it is a solo race for the “Predestined” who fails not even to finish in the points zone.
Haas
Those who expected their RB20s to shine at the Red Bull Ring were disappointed. Taking all the spotlight It was Haas which managed to finish in the points with both of its drivers, Nico Hulkenberg, sixth, and Kevin Magnussen, eighth. Heavy points for the American team which truly gave a solid performance in the Austrian GP.
In particular, the one who has the most reasons to smile, after the race ended in Spielberg, is the German driver. The national Hulk he didn’t give up sixth position not even for a moment and, in addition to beating (again) his teammate, on Red Bull’s home track he manages to get Perez’s RB20 behind him. A result that leaves you speechless and that has the flavour of a feat. Unthinkable four months ago.
Red Bull
The home race for Red Bull is a total disaster. In the Austrian GP, neither of the two RB20s managed to finish on the podium and if the dark tunnel into which Perez seems to have fallen (also beaten by Hulkenberg’s Haas this lap) is now endless, Verstappen is the one who magically finds himself more human. The Dutch driver seemed to have all the credentials to climb onto the top step of the podium at the Red Bull Ring too. Then everything has changed and the fratricidal fight with Norris brought us back a little back to the originswhen Max was too turbulent and his overtaking and counter-overtaking were often on the edge of the regulations.
Maybe it was the pressure, the idea of coming beaten on Red Bull’s home circuit but Verstappen could have avoided that contact with Norris. He went too far with that excess of defense. He took a ten-second penalty and ruined Norris’ race. Even if things couldn’t have gone worse for the Dutch driver, Max leaves the Red Bull Ring with the certainty of being he is the strong point of this RB20.
Even on Sunday in which the Dutchman fails to find the right angle and gets a penalty, Perez finishes 17 seconds behind him.
Alpine
It seems that the “Briatore” cure is doing well at Alpine. If with Gasly the French team manages to close, again, in the points, the two A524s are among the few things that put on a show at the Red Bull Ring. Now the family battle is tradition and, if Ocon comes out of it defeated againit is Gasly who holds the Alpine flag high.
Racing Bulls
Despite rumors of his imminent retirement, Ricciardo manages to take his Racing Bulls in his hands, up to the points zone and, while Tsunoda remains stuck behind without being able to have his say, the Australian driver holds on tightly to his ninth position, maintaining behind him the Alpine by Gasly. There could not have been a better response to the criticism from Ricci.
Williams
If Albon, despite a 5 second penaltyfinishes well ahead of his teammate, we can’t hide from saying that Sargeant is on a lower level. Not only than Albon, but I don’t think anyone will take it badly if I write that the American he doesn’t deserve F1. An example? When Leclerc, after contact with Piastri, had to stop to change the wing, the Williams driver was unable to avoid being last on that occasion either.
Aston Martin
Week after week now I’m struggling to find words for the situation that sees Aston Martin in a black hole in which not even a semblance of light can yet be seen. If Stroll, in Austria, manages to take home a 13th place finishing in front of Alonso, the Spaniard, race after race, is increasingly resigned. He also gets a penalty for having rear-ended Zhou’s Sauber. It hurts to see him down there but at least in Austria he took home the fastest lap of the race. Small consolation if we think that in seven days Aston Martin will run its home race, at Silverstone.
Stake F1
There are those in Austria he did worse than Williams and even worse than the Aston Martin. The F1 Stake, Sauber… call it whatever you like. With Zhou (17th) increasingly lost and further away from Bottas (16th) by more than twenty-five seconds… it doesn’t take much for the Finn to grab the title of best of the day. At least as far as Stake F1 is concerned, of course.
