This weekend it was time for the back-to-back race at Spielberg, Austria. One major change compared to last weekend was the tyre range offered by Pirelli. Last weekend Pirelli had brought the middle compounds for Steiermark GP, but now the tyre range covered the three softest compounds. C5, the very softest one, has previously been used at street circuits, Monaco for example.
Tens of thousands mostly orange-suited fans had taken over the grandstands, as the qualifying got underway. Verstappen continued, where he had left off last weekend. His pace was in a class of his own from the very first segment. Due to the extremely soft C5 compound, all teams would have wanted to use medium rubber in Q2. Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari sent their drivers out on the more durable rubber. Although the Scuderia aces were on a knockout zone after their first runs on mediums, they still opted for another set of mediums on their second attempt. Eliminating from the last segment would be a smaller setback in terms of the race than getting into the top ten and having to start to the race on the softs. And the red-suited drivers did end up missing out on Q3, whilst dominant Verstappen topped the timesheets, followed by the Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Bottas. The outstanding surprise of the second session was Williams' Russell making it into the top ten for the first time this season. The margins were teeny tiny, as Russell was safe by 0.006s only.
Home hero Verstappen was absolutely on flames in front of the orange army. He claimed provisional pole by two tenths to -not Lewis Hamilton- but McLaren's Norris, who showed top form. Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Bottas were provisionally locking down the second row. Verstappen started his last flyer as the very first car, which meant no tow for the Dutchman on the straights. Therefore Max proved unable to improve his lap time. Norris was absolutely flying on his last run, matching closely his rival's pace, but in the end, the Briton ended 0.048s shy of Max's benchmark. Still, it was historic third consecutive pole position for Max and career best qualifying result for Norris. Perez in the sister RB16B managed to deliver by qualifying third. Hamilton was left in P4 and teammate Bottas in P5. The AlphaTauri duo of Gasly and Tsunoda qualified sixth and seventh, leaving Vettel eighth, Russell ninth and Stroll in the sister AMR21 in P10. However, Vettel was given a 3-place grid penalty for impeding Alpine's Alonso in Q2, so the German was dropped down to P11.
Again the weather forecast had predicted rain for the race, but the conditions were cloudy and dry, as the start took place. The top five started to the race on the medium compound, whilst both AlphaTauris and both Aston Martins were forced to start on the soft Pirellis. Sainz, who had been promoted to P10 thanks to Vettel's penalty, opted for the hard tyres, as did Alfa Romeo's Räikkönen. At the start pole-setter Verstappen didn't offer his rivals any chance of trying a move on him. Norris held on to his second place and Perez on his third place. They were followed by the Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Bottas. At the back of the pack there was contact between Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi and Alpine's Ocon. The contact led into front suspension failure for the Frenchman, and Ocon's car stopped on the grass. Safety car was deployed but for a short period only.
After the restart Perez and Norris had an intense battle for P2. Going into Turn 4, Perez was a trying a move on the Briton, but ended up on the gravel. This was a costly off for the Mexican, as he dropped down to P10. The manoeuvre certainly looked like Norris had pushed Perez off track. The situation was taken into investigation by the stewards, and a moment later Norris was handed a 5-second time penalty, which was to be served during the pit stop.
Verstappen's pace was not to be matched by any other driver. Hamilton, on the other hand, bit by bit closed the gap to Norris, finally making a successful overtaking move on his countryman. On lap 30 both Bottas and Norris pitted for a fresh set of hard Pirellis. Due to Norris' 5-second penalty, Bottas managed to get ahead of the McLaren driver when rejoining the track. Norris was just barely able to keep Ferrari's Leclerc behind. Both Verstappen and Hamilton could easily make their pit stops without losing their positions. Verstappen was in firm lead, Hamilton second and Bottas third.
After the pit stop roulette Perez and Leclerc were fiercely fighting for P8. Once again the drama happened in Turn 4. This time Charles attacked Perez, who in cold blood repeated the move that Norris had made on him after the restart. Charles ended up partly on gravel, which ruined his chance of overtaking the Mexican. This, too was taken into investigation by the stewards, and soon Perez was given a 5-second time penalty for forcing Charles off track. In spite of the time penalty, Perez didn't learn from his infringement. Only a few laps later Charles challenged the Mexican again going into Turn 6. The Monegasque dived into the outside of Perez, but once again the Mexican made a questionable move, and Charles ended up on gravel again. Unbelievable but true, Perez was soon handed another 5-second time penalty for the same infringement!
Meanwhile, Bottas started to decrease the gap to his teammate, which was now 1.5 seconds only. Hamilton seemed to have some damage on the rear of his car, something floor-related. Hamilton also reported on the team radio, that his tyres weren't going to last till the end. Bottas was told, that he was free to race his teammate. Hamilton couldn't afford holding back his teammate, as there was a serious threat coming from behind -Lando Norris. Bottas moved ahead of his teammate and pulled away from him immediately. In no time Norris was also at Hamilton's tail, which led into a classy overtaking move by the younger Briton. Norris was now third in the race. Hamilton, on the other hand, pitted for the second time for another set of hard Pirellis, as his fourth place was secured. Verstappen's lead was so comfortable, that the flying Dutchman could easily afford a second pit stop as well. Still the gap to Bottas was over seven seconds.
On the closing stages of the race, Charles had let Sainz past, as he hadn't been able to take the fight to McLaren's Ricciardo, who was sixth in the race. After the switch Carlos brilliantly made it within striking distance from the Australian, and also performed a classy overtaking move, which proved successful. Starting to the race on the hard tyres had turned out to be genius strategy for Carlos.
Verstappen cruised to the chequered flag as dominant race winner in front of the shouting and cheering orange army. He also banged the fastest lap time, earning the extra point. Bottas finished the runner-up, and delighted Norris completed the podium. Hamilton was left in P4, and Carlos finished brilliant 5th due to successful tyre strategy. After a penalty-hit race Perez finished sixth for Red Bull, with Ricciardo 7th, Charles 8th, Gasly 9th and Alonso 10th. On the very final lap there was a bizarre-looking incident between Alfa Romeo's Räikkönen and Aston Martin's Vettel. The ex Ferrari teammates collided in Turn 5 and both went off on gravel. No points were coming for either one of them though.
Verstappen's lead in the drivers' championship standings is quite convincing at the moment -32 points. Red Bull have claimed five victories in a row now, which have converted into a 44-point lead in the constructors' standings. Ferrari are currently fourth right behind McLaren. Round 10 takes the F1 circus to Mercedes' home GP in Great Britain in a fortnight. All the best for the Red Team on the British soil!
With passion for racing red,
Iina Huhmarniemi
Comments
Authorize to comment