SPIELBERG. Full marks. This time, Max Verstappen deserves it, with his tenth victory (fifth in a row) in fifteen Sprints in the history of this short race that continues to spark discussions in the paddock, dividing it between those who accept it and those who hate it. Red Bull is no longer unbeatable, yet the three-time world champion is back to dominating after the skid in Monte Carlo: success in Canada, a repeat in Spain and a trio in the first round of the Austrian weekend. Praise goes to him for how he overtook Lando Norris, just one corner after having suffered the attack of his rival: both masterpiece maneuvers, but that of Super Max, inside turn 4 and without DRS, was a masterpiece. “A spicy duel,” the Dutchman called it. Perhaps Norris was a little naive, covering the outside and not expecting Verstappen’s push, to the point that on exiting the corner the Englishman was also surprised by teammate Oscar Piastri. «An amateur mistake – Norris admitted -, I should have closed the door». There, after about twenty kilometres, the Sprint effectively ended, with the podium no longer changing.
The Reds in defense
And the Ferraris? After a Friday to forget, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc did what they could, starting with an excellent start. The Spaniard overtook George Russell, while the Monegasque, who started 10th due to the anti-stall problem that prevented him from attempting the fastest lap in qualifying yesterday, immediately freed himself from the two Alpines to also pass Sergio Perez, increasingly in crisis with the other Red Bull, finishing 17″ behind his teammate. It was difficult to ask for more from the SF-24, considering that Leclerc was asked to do a lot lift&coast (release the accelerator a little before the braking point) to keep the brake temperature under control, although on medium tyres the pace of the Reds was better than that shown in the hunt for pole on the soft. Sainz was unable to defend himself from Russell’s counterattack, finishing fifth as he had started. Speaking of starts: the first attempt was aborted, forcing the drivers to a second formation lap. The reason? A photographer had gone outside the safety zone. Better not to risk anything, after the shivers of Monte Carlo.
