Austria is a small European state surrounded by generally peaceful greenery. But the Formula 1 drivers on the Spielberg circuit always manage to spark great discussions. In 2016 Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg began their internal war at Mercedes right here, with that close encounter at the famous Remus curve, now the scene of a thousand battles. Eight years later, the spotlights came back on 7 laps from the end of the GP for the bumper car involving Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. The contact and the puncture for both, which cost them the victory, could have ended a lifelong friendship. Perhaps a great new rivalry has just been born, what the Formula 1 promoter needs to further raise audience ratings. On July 1st in the 1979 French GP the public went into raptures for the legendary one-door challenge between Gilles Villeneuve and Renè Arnoux. On that occasion the two, on the podium, hugged each other as if nothing had happened, like great rivals who respected each other. This time it’s not certain. That what happened yesterday will remain in history. But now let’s go back to us and see the postcards that left from the Austrian circuit.
Postcards of good intentions
Toto Wolff sent a postcard with the Bahrain 2020 back-podium to George Russell. The young Briton had practically won that race, but a technical own goal by Mercedes had taken away the joy of his first success. Yesterday, a lucky victory arrived with two of his colleagues who gave him an assist that he knew how to exploit. Closing a circle, because what is taken away sooner or later is given back. A postcard with an image of the Virtual Safety was sent by Oscar Piastri to the stewards. The Australian would most likely have gotten close to George with his McLaren without the freezing of positions, but the Austrian GP was not the closing of the circle for him, his first victory in Formula 1 will come. The Ferrari Box sent a postcard with yesterday’s podium in Maranello, at least Carlos Sainz came third, saving what could be saved.
A postcard was sent from the Haas headquarters to both its drivers with many congratulations. The US team enters the points with both of them, after many years spent at the back of Formula 1. Pierre Gasly sent a postcard with the writing: “Hello!” to his Alpine partner Esteban Ocon. The internal feud is so fierce that the two even tease each other on the radio during the race. A postcard with a broken heart went from McLaren’s home to Lando Norris with the writing: “Don’t give up!”. Lando seemed very down after the close contact with his friend Max. Dear Norris, I would like to tell you just one thing, the race went badly but friendship is a value that must be safeguarded. Why throw it all away? After all, aren’t the best arguments made with your best friend?
Postcards of regret
Charles Leclerc sent a postcard with his portrait to all the known gods. The Monegasque closed a weekend full of bad luck. The contact at the beginning of the race took him out of everything, so much so that his race did not seem like that of a driver but that of a Pirelli tester for Formula 1 tires. Alexander Albon sent a postcard with an alarm clock to the Williams headquarters in Grove. The weekend of the English team was disappointing, so soporific that Logan Sargeant’s performance seemed almost average. The Kick Sauber drivers sent a postcard with their disappointed faces to the team’s headquarters in Switzerland. The almost home race given the distance was a disaster, perhaps everyone had remained at the European Championship match between Switzerland and Italy and forgot that there was a race.
Racing Bulls sent a samurai postcard to Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese in recent releases has not been flawless, which is on a growth path, but be careful not to make it become normal. The Aston Martin Formula 1 garage sent a congratulatory postcard to colleagues who won the 24h of SPA-Francorchamps. Aston Martin can only find the positive elsewhere, because for now things are quite bad in the top league. The last postcard was sent by myself to Max Verstappen. Dear Max, you don’t like it when you win too much, but why always put the load on it? Sometimes saying we made a mistake, even when it’s not entirely our fault, is okay, because as always, coming across as tough and those who never make mistakes, only leads to ruining relationships with the people who love us.
Formula 1 prepares for Silverstone hell
Silverstone! What a location this Silverstone, located in the heart of England, has become a powder keg since 2021. That is, since Verstappen ended up against the barriers at the famous Copse curve after a disastrous contact with Lewis Hamilton. Whose fault it was has been discussed for months, always returning to the starting point. Max returns after two years spent trying to mend his relationship with the fans across the Channel but it’s easy to imagine what kind of environment he will find. British fans are crazy about Norris, who also enjoys great favor in the media system. So let everyone save themselves! Formula 1 doesn’t stop, also because how can you stop it now that it finds itself in a feud that announces predictable fireworks?
PHOTO: social Formula 1
