By Carlo Platella
Less than a week after yet another head-to-head clash in Barcelona, Austria Lando Norris e Max Verstappen they are ready to renew a challenge at the top that has been going on since the Miami Grand Prix. With the updates introduced in Florida, the McLaren package now appears to be at the level of the Red Bull one, an awareness that also shines through in the words and disappointment of the Woking team after the lack of success in Spain. In Austria, however, Ferrari also hopes to get closer to the leading duo, trusting in a track that is more friendly to the characteristics of the SF-24.
Norris’s disappointment
It is a strangely calm and bitter Lando Norris who appears in the paddock of the Red Bull Ring. The British driver certainly does not mince his words when commenting on the Barcelona race, going on and on to tone down his excessive self-criticism, in particular towards his less than perfect start from the pole in Spain. The great severity he initially showed towards himself, however, denotes a certain regret for the missed success in Spain, the result of the awareness of now having in my hands a package finally at Red Bull level.
McLaren curbs enthusiasm, stating that in Barcelona the MCL38 was not faster than the RB20, but that the best pace expressed in the race was distorted by a strategy that saw the Woking team stop later and therefore use fresher tires than the world champions for a long time. If not in front, the British team is still confident that they have a car very close to Red Bull. The objective is to realize the potential with a victory in Austria, a different track but still not far from the Catalan one.
Much of the challenge will be decided in the ability to optimize the respective packages through tuning. A practice that becomes even more difficult in Austria with the return of the Sprint format and the single free practice session, also threatened by rain. All with one Red Bull has often lost its way in recent races in the search for the optimal set-up, as Perez himself states, finding a square with only Verstappen just before qualifying. Indecision which will not be admissible in the hectic weekend in Styria.
Ferrari does not lose optimism
In Austria The Prancing Horse hopes to return to the top positions after being relegated in the hierarchies behind Mercedes in Canada and Spain, albeit for different reasons. In the cold of Montreal the Red had not managed to turn on the tires in qualifying, while in Spain the SF-24 paid for the difficulty in adapting the set-up to the latest updates, as well as the chronic gaps in the medium-low speed corners and long distance. Curves are almost completely absent at the Red Bull Ring, with the exception of hairpin 4, instilling confidence in a Ferrari now also strengthened by greater experience with the recent package of innovations.
Mercedes for its part is riding the enthusiasm of recent progressas is evident from the serenity of Hamilton and Russell, both of whom appeared smiling in the Austrian paddock. The fight, as always, promises to be extremely close, even more so on one of the shortest circuits on the calendar, with the prediction of seeing a group of eight cars packed together in just two tenths. A balance where the difference will be made by the management of every single detail, including the traffic alert for qualifying, which on the long straights of Austria could also turn into a precious opportunity for slipstreaming.
