Austrian GP: sparks between Verstappen and Norris, and Russell incredibly takes the win!

(Cover picture: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images)

There are days in Formula 1 that are worth entire seasons, not so much for the stakes that characterize some Grand Prix, but for the meaning that specific moments have. Austrian Grand Prix, lap 64 of 71: Verstappen is engaged in a strenuous defense on Lando Norris, after the Englishman had recovered all the gap laboriously accumulated in the first three quarters of the race, which was then squandered in the space of a slow pitstop and a front lock... Lando attacks Max on the outside approaching Turn 3, but the Dutchman moves under braking and the two collide! Puncture for both, who struggle to return to the pits without allowing the carcasses of the collapsed tyres to destroy their bodywork. That's it for Norris, while Verstappen (who in the meantime had received a 10 second penalty for the crash) manages to finish the race in fifth position.

This would be enough to describe what happened at the Red Bull Ring, but as mentioned, the fight - and the consequences it caused - has a deeper meaning than what happened on track. For a couple of months now Norris has been Verstappen's most accredited opponent, and only due to a series of coincidences (and demerits of the driver and team) he and his McLaren didn't achieve a streak of race wins: after the triumph in Miami, in fact, the Englishman could have won in Imola, Canada and Spain, but on all three occasions Verstappen prevailed!

Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Let's be clear, this absolutely doesn't diminish the merits of a driver (Max) who we have always appreciated and praised for the difference he manages to make on track; but, as for Norris, it's easy to understand that the fight with the World Champion has started to take on "personal" contours... It's not a new dynamic in Formula 1, we've seen many times these types of "stereotypical" comparisons between an established champion and a young emerging driver who aims to dethrone him. The ages of the two drivers clash a bit with the scenario pictured, but from the moment McLaren managed to take the step forward necessary to aim for victory, Norris stepped into the role of the challenger. And during the Austrian Grand Prix we saw very well what happens when someone tries to fight against Verstappen...

Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Before moving on to the performance analysis of the Austrian GP, ​​I would like to try to nip in the bud the controversies that inevitably arose following the action discussed. In fact, many have said that the 10-seconds penalty imposed on Verstappen was wy too mild, and that Norris (in turn punished with a 5-seconds time penalty for violating the track limits in a previous phase of the same duel) has his next race already compromised, since he was unable serving his penalty - as he was forced to retire. In fact, according to the Sporting Regulation, the 5-seconds time penalty will be converted into a 3-positions penalty on the grid at Silverstone.

To all this I reply that I prefer to see tough duels like the one staged today, rather than observing a compliant behaviour on the part of the drivers in fear of a sanction: Verstappen "sacrificing" his race to prevent it from being won by his current direct rival, although being not a 100% clean move, embodies the essence of a Formula 1 which over the years has become softer with penalties, reprimands and points added to the drivers' super licences. At the risk of sounding like a traditionalist, I feel like saying that in the '90s and '00s half of the starting grid would have been disqualified, judging by the behaviour they used to have on track!

Analysis of the race: two-man fight before the stroke of luck for Russell

Having made a necessary introduction reguarding the key moment of the race, let's move on to our usual analysis, starting as always from the final classification of the Austrian GP:

At this point in the article it will be surprising that we haven't yet mentioned the winner of the Grand Prix, George Russell. Of course, in addition to the importance of the crash analyzed in the economy of the race, it must be said that the way in which the Mercedes driver won is somewhat reminiscent of the Australian skater Steven Bradbury, universally known for the stroke of luck which gave him an incredible victory at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Parallels aside, today the track's verdict says that George could have aspired at most to the third position in which he was at the time of the accident between the first two. The positive note, however, is that up to that point the Englishman had gained a gap of only 16 seconds from the leading couple of cars, a relatively short distance if we think back to the very limited potential that the Mercedes W15 was able to express up to a few race ago.

Analysis of the race stints run by the drivers of the top teams - Austrian GP

Analysis of the race stints run by the drivers of the top teams - Austrian GP

Going into more detail, thanks to the analysis of the stints we can observe how in the first part of the race (run by everyone on Medium tyres) the Englishman driving for Mercedes was second only to Verstappen's Red Bull RB20, while his compatriot of McLaren managed to gain an average of only 0.170 s/lap on him; in the middle stint, the strategists of the English-German team decided to opt for an inversion of what would have been the natural tyre sequence: instead of fitting a set of Hards, on Russell's W15 they was fitted another set of Mediums, a compound that today proved to be more performing and equally durable than the hardest compound - C3 to be precise.

Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Also in this case the script of the first stint was repeated, with the crucial difference that George managed to make the most of the compound offset compared to his rivals (mainly Sainz), and opened a gap that could protect him from a comeback of the Spaniard in the last stint, in which the situation in terms of tyres would be reversed. The plan worked perfectly, and when it seemed that the third step of the podium was the obvious outcome of his Sunday, the mutual elimination of the first two paved the way for the second Formula 1 win of his career!

With a similar race pace, Mercedes beats Ferrari due to isolated episodes

Just as in the last Spanish GP in Barcelona, ​​we also witnessed a hard-fought duel between Ferrari and Mercedes in Spielberg. Unfortunately, Charles Leclerc didn't take active part in this challenge, as he was squeezed between Oscar Piastri's McLaren and Sergio Perez's Red Bull at the start in the narrow 90 degrees right-hander of Turn 1. The contact resulted in rather extensive damage to the front wing of his Ferrari SF-24, which made it necessary to replace it: from that moment on, a 3-stop strategy (four, if we consider the pitstop on lap 1) brought the Monegasque back up to P11 at the chequered flag, frustrating his effort without - unfortunately - obtaining any championship points.

Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

The battle was therefore fought between Russell, Sainz and Hamilton, in the same order they maintained throughout the race: their clash was not based on wheel-to-wheel and overtaking, but it was a long-distance clash, with laptimes which - depending on the various race phases - foreshadowed unclear and ever-changing outcomes. In this regard, it is interesting to note how Hamilton, after an initial phase of the race in which he seemed very competitive, gradually "disconnected" from the Russell-Sainz duo, until finishing with a gap of 23 seconds from his teammate.

Analysis of the race pace held by Russell, Piastri, Sainz and Hamilton - Austrian GP

Analysis of the race pace held by Russell, Piastri, Sainz and Hamilton - Austrian GP

Although there were no reported issues that may have slowed down the pace of the 7-time World Champion, it's likely that there were some alarms related to the cooling, a crucial factor at the Red Bull Ring (due to the air rarefying, being at high altitude). Net of this, in trying to decipher the race between Mercedes and Ferrari it's useful to keep track - alongside the substantial performances draw between Russell and Sainz - the one who played a leading role, namely Oscar Piastri (P2).

Personal best laptime achieved by top teams' drivers - Austrian GP

Personal best laptime achieved by top teams' drivers - Austrian GP

After a first lap that saw him collide with both Leclerc in Turn 1 and Perez in Turn 4 (which cost him an excursion into the gravel trap), the Australian led an uncompetitive first stint, but in the second and in the third he was literally flying: his progression led him to lap at the end with a pace of around 0.4 s/lap faster than the rivals mentioned, which is why - with a few more laps - we could have seen him overtake Russell, a scenario that would have given him his first victory in Formula 1 after his success in the Sprint in Qatar last year.

Hulkenberg and Magnussen in the top 10: crucial result for Haas' season!

The greatest result from today is probably the one obtained by Haas, who on a track that has always given them excellent results took home a P6 with Nico Hulkenberg and a P8 with Kevin Magnussen: a haul of 12 points which allows the American team to immediately make a counter-attack in the Constructors' Championship against Alpine, which with a good race in Spain had taken seventh position in the standings.

Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

The race of both Haas drivers was based on a two-stop strategy, but with a very early first pitstop which allowed the two to make a powerful undercut on many opponents, as the direct rival Alpine. From that moment on, not without some skirmishes between Nico and Kevin, both focused on taking care of their tyres, in order to extend as much as possible the middle stint and the last stint, again run on the Mediums. Mission accomplished, and extra points earned also by virtue of Norris' DNF.

Also noteworthy is Hulkenberg's strenuous defense on Perez on the last lap, with a late braking with smoking wheels in Turn 4 that kept the Red Bull Mexican driver behind his Haas VF-24... The right conclusion for a Sunday in which the German, as often happens even if far from the spotlight, didn't make any mistakes, indeed overperforming with reference to the potential available from his single-seater.

Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Finally, at the tail end of the top ten, we find Daniel Ricciardo's RB and Pierre Gasly's Alpine, author of very close duels with his teammate Ocon (P12) for large stretches of the Grand Prix. The teams that finish outside the points with both their drivers are Aston Martin, Kick Sauber and Williams.

Back to Silverstone, to close the first triple header of the 2024 World Championship

Not even time to assimilate the outcome of this Austrian GP, ​​and in less than a week we'll be back on track for free practice for the British Grand Prix, in the historical Silverstone. The English stage will close the first so-called "triple header" on the calendar, i.e. a sequence of 3 races in 3 weeks... A significant technical, logistical and human effort for all those involved in the Formula 1 Circus, who in about a month - not before having competed in two more Grand Prix (in Hungary and Belgium) - will be able to enjoy some well-deserved holidays.

But first, let's get together on this website next Saturday to discuss qualifying at Silverstone. See you then!

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