Yes Yes, I know. Red Bull Wins again. Yet, I feel the need to title this article with something other than Red Bull. It seems that Red Bull is destined to win every race this year. If Max Verstappen and Red Bull keep this pace up, they will be remembered as the most dominate team in a season in Formula 1 history. Red Bull are relative upstarts compared to Ferrari. The pride of Italy has won the most Grand Prix’s and the most Formula 1 Championships in the sport. When one thinks of Formula 1 racing, they think of Ferrari. They are the standard every other team aspires to. Yet, of late, Ferrari has not been living up to their own high standards. At least today they reached the podium.
This Formula 1 weekend has quite possibly been the best one of the season. The Austrian Grand Prix had a bit of everything….a bit of rain…a bit of rubbing…a bit of racing…a bit of strategy and a lot of black flags.
The Sprint
Yesterday, it rained most of the Austrian Sprint. The grid navigated a wet track on intermediate tires most of the race. A few brave soul’s changed to slicks towards the end as the track started to dry, but it didn’t help them much. Verstappen and Sergio Perez started out front and stayed there for the most part. Perez ended up getting a better start off the line than Verstappen, but the Flying Dutchman took the lead back a few turns later into the first lap. Nico Hulkenberg drove his Haas past Perez but ended up being overtaken by Perez during lap 12 of 24. Carlos Sainz, starting fourth, also ended up passing Hulkenberg during lap 12 as well. Unfortunately, the Haas tire degradation was too much, and Hulkenberg faded fast. Verstappen, Perez and Sainz were the podium finishers for the 24-lap sprint, and it was a premonition for the Grand Prix to come.
Qualification
Qualification occurred on Friday, and once again Sergio Perez had a bad day, ending up 15th on the grid. Today’s third place finish is a testament to his grit, determination and Red Bull engineering. Ferrari showed up and showed out during qualification with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz earning P1 and P2 respectfully. However, the big surprise of qualification and race day was Lando Norris. The McLaren driver ended up P4 on Friday, and drove one helluva race today. He was the best driver on the grid after the Red Bull’s and Ferrari’s, finishing fifth overall.
The Start
Norris’s stellar start to the weekend seemed to be in jeopardy once the race kicked off. Verstappen’s start was predictably fast, followed closely by Leclerc who raced the Dutchman hard thru the first lap. Sainz struggled a bit, but Norris’s reaction time was slow and Lewis Hamilton starting P5 got the jump on his fellow Englishman and overtook Norris going into turn two. However, a safety car slowed the race down to deal with debris flying off of Yuki Tsunoda’s Alfa Tauri after getting clipped by Hulkenberg’s Haas.
Black Flags Waving
Once green flag racing resumed, Hamilton started experiencing issues with his brakes as well as his overall set up. Norris eventually overtook Hamilton, taking advantage of Hamilton’s woes.
Hamilton’s problems grew larger as he started collecting warnings for exceeding track limits. He complained that his car simply would not turn. Drivers receive three verbal warnings before a black and white flag is waved. The black and white flag signifies the next time they exceed track limits they will be black flagged and will be penalized five seconds in pit lane.
Hamilton was not the only one with issues exceeding track limits. Turn ten was the bane of almost half the grid, as black and white flags seemed to reign supreme. A Jolly Roger would not have been out of place there. Hamilton was the first of nine drivers who were black flagged at the Austrian Grand Prix. Both drivers for Alpha Tauri, Williams and Alpine were also black flagged. Carlos Sainz and Kevin Magnusson joined the group of offenders.
Ferrari’s Performance
Early on in the race, it seemed as though Ferrari made a mistake not letting Sainz overtake Leclerc. Sainz appeared faster than Leclerc, yet Ferrari told them to hold position. Then, during lap 15 there was a virtual safety car. Ferrari was a bit unlucky because they just driven past the pit lane when the virtual safety car was implemented. Most of the grid behind them pitted. Ferrari looked like they would stay out with Verstappen, however at the last minute both Ferarris were called in. Leclerc’s stop was a bit slow, impeding Sainz. Leclerc came out in second roughly 22 seconds behind Verstappen. Sainz, who was in third, came out of the pits sixth. Sainz was critical of the move, wanting to stay out with Verstappen. It didn’t take him long to get back into third place, but he was not destined to keep it.
Red Bull Capstone
Max Verstappen ran a patient race today. Verstappen pitted for the first-time during lap 25 where he finally lost the lead lap. Verstappen had been on the lead lap of every race, for every lap since the Miami Grand Prix. When Verstappen rolled out of pit lane heading into lap 26, he was behind both Ferrari’s. His fine strategic mind came into play as he trailed Sainz heading into turn three. There was no car in front of Sainz, so his DRS was not going to activate. Right before turn three is the DRS line, and Verstappen astutely allowed Sainz to cross that line first knowing that Verstappen would gain DRS and blow past Sainz coming out of turn three. Verstappen executed this same maneuver on Leclerc nine laps later at the same turn.
Verstappen and Perez were running first and second when Verstappen pitted during lap 50. When he pitted, Verstappen was 26 seconds ahead of his teammate. Perez pitted during lap 51 coming out fifth, behind Norris in fourth and Sainz in third. Perez overtook Norris during lap 57 and was already on Sainz’s tail. At this point in the race, the frustrated Spaniard knew he would not podium, but ever the team player, Sainz did his best to hold off Perez as long as he could to keep Perez off of Leclerc. Laps 57 thru Laps 61 showcased some of the best racing of this year’s Austrian Grand Prix as Sainz and Perez battled it out. Sainz remembered how Verstappen was able to pass him and for three laps in a row, Sainz positioned himself to catch DRS every time turn three came around, giving him the extra boost he needed to stay inches ahead of Perez, and giving Leclerc precious time to race unimpeded. Finally, Sainz’s good luck catching DRS on turn three ran out during lap 62 and Perez was able to overtake Sainz to secure third place for the race.
With two laps left in the race, Verstappen was 24 seconds ahead of Leclerc. He boxed in order to get soft slicks. Verstappen used lap 70 to charge his battery and warm up his tires, and on the last lap of the race he earned a final point by driving the fastest lap in the race. This would not have been possible but for Red Bull’s excellent pit crew.
Mercedes and Aston Martin have fallen off a bit over the past few race weekends. Will Silverstone reignite them? Ferrari appears to be gaining momentum and Norris benefited greatly from the latest round of McLaren upgrades. After Red Bull, it seems to be a wide-open field. Let’s see what Silverstone has to offer!
