Tag Archives: Austrian Grand Prix

2024 F1 Grand Prix of Austria — Results & aftermath

Russell gifted win after Verstappen & Norris tangle; Piastri’s lone surviving McLaren claims P2, Sainz P3; Verstappen finishes in P5 but Norris DNFs

A funny thing happened on the way to another Max Verstappen romp at his team’s own Red Bull Ring. A day after dominating the Saturday Sprint and earning pole for the Austrian Grand Prix, the smart money was on Verstappen’s dominating ways here in Spielberg, where he has won four of the last six contests, continuing come race day. And for two thirds of this 71-lap contest, that appeared to be the case. But, with the race evolving into a graduate level true tire strategy test for the engineers on this short, high-deg circuit, things began shifting away from the race leading Red Bull man when both he and the P2 McLaren of Lando Norris were called in on Lap 51 for their second and ostensibly final pit stop for fresh rubber. Both doffed their used Hard Pirelli tires and changed back to the Mediums, the compound they had both started the race on. But Verstappen’s pit crew had an uncharacteristically slow 6.5 -second stop after battling with a sticky left rear wheel, while Norris’s time stationary was the more typically crisp 2.9-seconds. Upon exiting the pits line to stern, Verstappen now saw his previous seven-second lead evaporate to just a touch more than a second over the pursuing McLaren. And pursue Norris did, quickly getting into DRS range and harassing the Dutch race leader over a multi-lap period.  Under that fierce pressure, Verstappen began to be ever more aggressive in defense, leading to multiple complaints from Norris back to his race engineer that the Red Bull was consistently moving in reaction to his lunges. Norris himself had already received the Black & White flag for track limits and eventually received a 5-second penalty after running wide trying an overtake on Verstappen on Lap 59. But that didn’t tame Norris’s aggression and confidence at all. With the two front runners dicing for the race win in ever more intense and physical manner as the laps wound down, something had to give. And on Lap 64, the seemingly inevitable contretemps finally happened.

Norris dove to the inside seeming into the always treacherous off-camber Turn 3 looking to make the race winning overtake. But Verstappen appeared to squeeze the McLaren at the apex and Norris’s from wing made contact with Verstappen’s rear left, damaging the rim and cutting down the Red Bull’s tire almost immediately. Despite his stricken state, Verstappen would not yield and let Norris through into the lead and the two touched again, with Norris picking up a puncture of his own to the rear right. Both the Red Bull and McLaren had to limp back to the pits, but the Red Bull was able to do a standard tire change to Softs, while Norris’s McLaren had been so badly damaged at both the front and by the tire carcass flailing the rear bodywork that the crestfallen Englishman was forced to retire the car. While Verstappen received a 10-second time penalty after the stewards determined he was at fault for that fateful contact between the top two contenders, the Dutch points leader was able to salvage P5 from of the ordeal, as well as set the fastest lap of the Grand Prix for an extra point on those fresh Softs. Norris, meanwhile, scored no points with his DNF, his dreams of victory going from within his grasp to ashes in his mouth in mere moments. Previously on very friendly terms, the way things went down in Austria this Sunday and with Norris’s pointed post-race comments putting all of the blame on the Red Bull ace, there’s likely to be a fairly serious cooling off in Verstappen and Norris’s bromance.

The late race chaos all redounded to the benefit of Mercedes’ George Russell, who went from plodding along in a safe and solitary third place to blowing by the two injured cars ahead and taking the lead on that fateful Lap 64. To quote the Englishman, he was more than happy to “pick up the pieces” and to be fair to him, Russell had run cleanly and quickly enough to be in a position to do so. The Mercedes factory team were jubilant at their good fortune and neither Russell nor the Silver Arrows brass seemed inclined to give the great gift win back. Picking up his teammate, the second and sole surviving McLaren of Oliver Piastri was not able to close enough on Russell for a final lunge but did come home an outstanding P2, though the young Aussie may be ruing having his best lap in qualifying deleted for track limits and being forced to start P7. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz also enjoyed his gift trip to the podium after inheriting P3. While the second Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton finished a distant P4 to add to the team’s unexpectedly large points haul, the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc could never quite recover from an opening lap kerfuffle with Piastri and Sergio Perez that necessitated a costly and interminable time in the pits for a front wing change so early in the race. The Monegasque finished an unlucky P11 outside the points despite about a zillion pit stops.

While Perez had yet another underwhelming performance in the second Red Bull en route to a desultory P7 finish, it was something of a banner day for the Haas F1 team. Putting themselves in position to fully benefit from the misfortunes of others by being genuinely quick and having solid pit stops, Nico Hulkenberg rode the chaotic late race waves to an impressive P6 finish, while teammate Kevin Magnussen came home in P8. It was by far the best scoring day for Haas in 2024 and they’ll be hoping they can build on this improved performance at Silverstone next weekend. Rounding out the top ten, Daniel Ricciardo did yeoman’s work for RB Honda to finish P9, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly ascended to P10 upon Norris’s retirement.

Top 10 finishers of the Austrian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 63 George Russell MERCEDES 71 1:24:22.798 25
2 81 Oscar Piastri MCLAREN MERCEDES 71 +1.906s 18
3 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 71 +4.533s 15
4 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 71 +23.142s 12
5 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 71 +37.253s 10
6 27 Nico Hulkenberg HAAS FERRARI 71 +54.088s 8
7 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 71 +54.672s 6
8 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 71 +60.355s 4
9 3 Daniel Ricciardo RB HONDA RBPT 71 +61.169s 2
10 10 Pierre Gasly ALPINE RENAULT 71 +61.766s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time, making it a grueling three Grand Prix in a row — the classic British GP from the legendary Silverstone airfield track. McLaren seem to have the pace to take it to Verstappen’s Red Bull but can they duke it out with the increasingly aggressive championship leader? And can once-mighty Mercedes take their improved performance and turn it into yet more good luck at their home circuit? Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2024 F1 Grand Prix of Austria — Qualifying results

Verstappen cruises to pole at Red Bull Ring; Norris once again closest pursuer in P2, Russell surges to P3 after Piastri track limits violation

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen continued his dominance at the team’s eponymous Red Bull Ring, where the flying Dutchman has won four of the last six races here in the mountains of Spielberg. Verstappen fended off the best efforts of McLaren’s Lando Norris to secure pole for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix not long after a rather procedural romp to victory in the 23-lap Saturday Sprint race earlier in the day. Verstappen kept his mojo working in qualifying en route to yet another pole position, his eighth out of eleven rounds in 2024. It was also Verstappen’s fifth consecutive pole here at the short and speedy little Red Bull Ring and the triple World Champion’s 40th of his brilliant career. With his current run of otherworldly form, you can expect him to at least double that number by the time the Dutch master is through.

Norris was once again Verstappen’s main challenger and, while he couldn’t match Max’s one lap pace and ended up some 0.4-seconds adrift in P2 on the grid, the team and their young English star can take some hope from the fact that Norris seems to fly even faster in race trim. His teammate Oscar Piastri was also looking very quick but had his final lap in Q3 deleted for track limits violations, relegating the speedy Aussie to a P7 start come Sunday. That error benefitted Mercedes’ George Russell, whose time was both legal and good enough for P3 on the second row. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz will line up across from Russell in P4, with the second Merc of Lewis Hamilton once again struggling a bit more than his teammate and only able to muster a time good enough for P5. With the second Prancing Horse of Charles Leclerc botching his final try and staying P6, it could make for a very spicy start with the mixed Mercedes-Ferrari second and third rows at the start of tomorrow’s race.

Rounding out the top ten qualifiers, Sergio Perez was once again far off his teammates supreme pace and scuffled to an utterly mediocre P8 time, while Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg certainly over performed his car in P9 and Esteban Ocon showed good consistency in his improved Alpine to grab a respectable P10 place for tomorrow’s starting grid.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Austrian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:05.336 1:04.469 1:04.314 18
2 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:05.450 1:05.103 1:04.718 20
3 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:05.585 1:05.016 1:04.840 18
4 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:05.263 1:05.016 1:04.851 18
5 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:05.541 1:05.053 1:04.903 18
6 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:05.509 1:05.104 1:05.044 22
7 81 Oscar Piastri MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:05.311 1:05.070 1:05.048 17
8 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:05.587 1:05.144 1:05.202 21
9 27 Nico Hulkenberg HAAS FERRARI 1:05.596 1:05.262 1:05.385 21
10 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 1:05.574 1:05.274 1:05.883 24

Complete qualifying results available via Fromula1.com.

Sunday’s race airs live on ESPN beginning at 9 am Eastern here in the States. Have Norris and Russell got anything for Verstappen at Red Bull’s home circuit or will they just be battling each other, Hamilton and the two Ferraris for second place? Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Austria — Results & aftermath

CRUISE CONTROL: Verstappen caps off dominant Sprint weekend at Red Bull Ring with untouchable GP win; Perez makes outstanding recovery drive to take P3, Leclerc a solid second, Sainz P6 for improved Ferrari; Mercedes falter

Red Bull’s peerless Max Verstappen continued his relentless march to a third consecutive Formula 1 Drivers’ Title with a dominant victory on Sunday at the team’s namesake track in Spielberg, Austria. Verstappen capped off his imperious race weekend after winning the Sprint race on Saturday by cheekily going for the fastest lap point with a swap to Soft Pirellis with only two laps remaining in the 71-lap contest. While that erased much of his over 20-second advantage to the second place Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, the pit crew executed a perfect tire swap and Verstappen still took the checkers 5-seconds to the good, as well as the fast lap bonus point. At the end of the busy weekend in Austria, the haul was a maximum 34 championship points for marvelous Max and a stunning five wins on the trot. Now carrying an 81-point points bulge over his nearest rival, teammate Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s run to the title is looking more and more like a coronation and potentially one of the most dominant seasons by a driver in F1 history. And such is the quality of Red Bull’s superb RB19 that one of their drivers has won all nine races run this year. It would seem there is not enough time for Ferrari, Mercedes or Aston Martin to catch up with Red Bull’s pace advantage, particularly its supernatural speed when using DRS, and all will have to be satisfied with scrapping for the crumbs from Max’s table.

Perez had a much needed and outstanding recovery drive after qualifying in P15 on Friday due to track limits violations scrubbing his best times (this was to be a recurring theme for many drivers during the race, as well). The veteran Mexican steadily worked his way into contention with patient but decisive overtaking maneuvers and, thanks also to his team’s flawless pit strategy and execution, found himself in P5 by Lap 51. He then steadily closed on the McLaren of Lando Norris, capitalizing on a lockup to make his way by the English driver on Lap 56. That put Carlos Sainz’s Ferrai in his sights and the two engaged in a ding dong battle for multiple laps of a knife’s edge pas de deux. Sainz was able to cleverly survive the onslaught for a time thanks in part to catching the DRS zone just right after Perez appeared to make the overtake. But the duel came to a decisive end on Lap 62 when Perez finally made the pass that stuck to grab P3 and a satisfying podium after a series of lackluster efforts since his last podium result in Miami back in Round 5. Crucially, Perez also avoided the track limits penalties that rained down upon so many other contenders to preserve his P3 finishing time.

Despite Sainz’s thrilling defense, it was the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc that earned the biggest plaudits for the Scuderia on this day. Leclerc finished second by a deceptively small 5-second margin — it would have been well over 20-seconds had Verstappen not gambled and won on the late stop to take a run at fastest lap — but it was still a solid effort by the Monegasque, as he was able to covert his P2 place on the grid into and equal finishing result and gain ground on his teammate in the standings. Sainz’s once encouraging day came to a bitter end, as the Spaniard was assessed 10-seconds worth of penalties for track limits post race, plummeting him down the order into P6 after crossing the line in P4. Still, it was a good day for Ferrari, which have seen steady performance gains over the last several races. Sainz’s demotion resulted in Norris being promoted to P4 and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso being elevated to P5 despite a relatively unexceptional performance by the two-time champion. Likewise, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton wracked up 10-seconds of post race penalties for track limits, demoting him to P8 and elevating teammate George Russell to P7. In truth, Mercedes lacked pace this weekend and can only be hoping that is a Red Bull Ring-specific issue and not an indicator that their recent progress was actually a mirage.

The second Aston of Lance Stroll also scored in P9 and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly took the final point in P10 when all the penalties were sorted.

Top 10 finishers of the Austrian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 71 1:25:33.607 26
2 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 71 +5.155s 18
3 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 71 +17.188s 15
4 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 71 +26.327s 12
5 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 71 +30.317s 10
6 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 71 +31.377s 8
7 63 George Russell MERCEDES 71 +48.403s 6
8 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 71 +49.196s 4
9 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 71 +59.043s 2
10 10 Pierre Gasly ALPINE RENAULT 71 +67.667s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is already fast approaching — the British Grand Prix at the venerable Silverstone Circuit. Can anyone balk Max’s seemingly unstoppable momentum — perhaps the improved Ferraris will finally break through or maybe Hamilton will find the magic of previous years at his favorite track? Hope to see you then to find out!

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Austria — Qualifying results

Verstappen barely bests Leclerc to notch fourth consecutive pole as track limits penalties wreak havoc; Sainz backs up Ferrari teammate in P3 but Perez’s fast lap deleted in Q2

With another of Formula 1’s fairly gimmicky Sprint Races looming on Saturday, qualifying for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix took place on Friday after only one Practice session. Perhaps that lack of track time showed, because nearly every driver in the field had laps deleted at some point throughout the three quali rounds here at the short and fast Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. That even included the peerless Max Verstappen, who still managed to settle in and set a lap good enough for pole despite having to be slightly more conservative than he would have wished. The Dutch master pipped the very game and hard charging Ferrari of Charles Leclerc by a razor thin 0.048 seconds. Carlos Sainz backed up his Scuderia stablemate in P3, perhaps providing a measure of optimism that the SF-23 might finally be finding the pace to challenge for wins again. But it has been race pace that has been Ferrari’s problem this season, not to mention race strategy, so it remains to be seen on Sunday if the fabled team from Maranello have genuinely conquered the issues holding back their long run performance.

Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez was the most prominent driver to lose his time due to track limits violations. The Mexican veteran came a cropper in Q2 when he had his only fast time of the session deleted with not enough time remaining to make amends. So, while Verstappen earned his fourth consecutive pole, Perez failed to reach Q3 for the fourth race weekend in a row. Starting from a lowly P15 come race day, Perez’s Round 4 win in Azerbaijan seems a century ago and his once optimistic championship hopes are holding on by a thread. McLaren’s Lando Norris was quick all day here in Spielberg at a track he loves and set the fourth fastest time in Q3, besting the P5 Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. Similarly to Perez, Hamilton’s teammate George Russell also lost his best lap in Q2 for track limits infringements and will be relegated to starting from P11 on the grid. Lance Stroll out-qualified his Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso for the first time this year, while Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg in P8, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in P9 and Alex Albon’s Williams in P10 all benefitted from keeping their cars between the white lines while other, perhaps faster drivers went a little too far over the edge for the stewards’ liking.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Austrian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 24
2 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 26
3 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 25
4 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 23
5 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 25
6 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 25
7 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 27
8 27 Nico Hulkenberg HAAS FERRARI 24
9 10 Pierre Gasly ALPINE RENAULT 21
10 23 Alexander Albon WILLIAMS MERCEDES 21

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

The Sprint Race is tomorrow but Sunday’s GP airs live on ESPN beginning at 9AM Eastern here in the States. Can Leclerc and Ferrari finally step up and challenge Verstappen for victory in Red Bull’s own back yard? I have my doubts but hope to se you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Austria — Sprint Qualifying results

Verstappen wins Sprint race at Red Bull Ring to earn P1 start in Austrian GP; Ferrari’s Leclerc & Sainz duke it out for P2 & P3

Formula 1’s gimmicky Sprint Qualifying format returned for this first time this season to set the grid for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix. On a sunny day at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen converted his “pole” from Friday’s standard qualifying into a victory in the 23-lap Sprint Race on Saturday, earning the top starting spot for tomorrow’s race and 8 championship points in the process. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will line up alongside the Dutch points leader in P2, having out dueled his teammate and last week’s race winner Carlos Sainz, in a rather fierce internecine on track battle. In the event, Sainz came off second best after a series of mutual hip checks and had to settle for P3. Mercedes’ George Russell will start from P4, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton battled back from a nasty sideways shunt during Friday qualifying to take the last point available in this format in P8. Verstappen’s Red Bull stablemate Sergio Perez also had to fight his way to the front after being penalized for exceeding track limits during quali and being relegated to P13 for the start of the Sprint. The veteran Mexican ace picked his way through the field expertly in the limited laps available and ended up all the way up in P5 when the checkers flew. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon secured P6 but teammate Fernando Alonso’s car wouldn’t fire up on the grid and he will go back to P19 on the grid tomorrow, a far distance from his original P8 qualifying effort. The two Haas of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher seem genuinely quick here and finished the Sprint in P7 and P9 respectively. Schumacher held off Hamilton for several laps before finally giving up the last point paying position to the seven-time champ’s Silver Arrow.

Top 10 finishers of the Sprint race to set the grid for tomorrow’s Austrian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 23 26:30.059 8
2 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 23 +1.675s 7
3 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 23 +5.644s 6
4 63 George Russell MERCEDES 23 +13.429s 5
5 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 23 +18.302s 4
6 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 23 +31.032s 3
7 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 23 +34.539s 2
8 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 23 +35.447s 1
9 47 Mick Schumacher HAAS FERRARI 23 +37.163s 0
10 77 Valtteri Bottas* ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 23 +37.557s 0

*Bottas took a new power unit after the Sprint and so will start from P20 tomorrow.

Complete Sprint results available via Formula1.com.

Complete “qualifying” results from Friday also via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live beginning at 9AM Eastern on ESPN2 here in the States. At a track where the home team and their main man Max dominate it’s an open question if the Ferraris have anything at all to challenge the flying Dutchman, as he seeks to gap his nearest championship rivals. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2021 F1 Grand Prix of Austria — Qualifying results

Verstappen aces second consecutive pole at Red Bull Ring; Norris a surprisingly potent P2 for McLaren, Perez P3; Hamilton & Mercedes off the pace

A week after dominating the Styrian Grand Prix for an easy win, Red Bull’s championship-leading Max Verstappen was back to his imperious ways at the team’s home circuit, as the superlative Dutchman earned a second consecutive pole position at the Red Bull Ring, this time for tomorrow’s Austrian Grand Prix. On a track that suits him like a hand-tailored garment, Verstappen kept his positive momentum going on a day when his main championship rival, Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton, took a step backwards. Not only did Verstappen earn the top starting spot in Saturday qualifying but instead of Hamilton or the second Merc of Valtteri Bottas nipping at his heels, Verstappen will have McLaren’s hard charging young star Lando Norris alongside him on the front row of the grid in P2. The 21-year-old Englishman maximized the superior straight-line speed of his Mercedes-powered MCL35M chassis to earn his best ever Formula 1 starting spot, setting a fast time just .048 behind the points leader and, alongside the 23-year-old Verstappen, will make up one of the youngest front rows in F1 history. Norris’ success came at the expense of the factory Mercedes drivers, as Hamilton could manage no better than a P4 time and Bottas slotted in at P5, with Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez bettering them both by setting the third fastest time in Q3. That leaves Checo in prime position to play the loyal Red Bull wingman during tomorrow’s race. It’s now fairly clear that this track no longer suits the Silver Arrows as it did a year ago and that other teams have improved their performance here at the Red Bull Ring enough in the interim to make Mercedes look positively mediocre. Toto Wolff and the AMG braintrust will have to figure out a way to minimize the potential damage from tomorrow’s race by finishing both cars well up in the points and then looking forward to better days at Silverstone in two weeks. Because realistically, the Mercs have very little shot at winning against the ascendent Red Bull of Verstappen and neither Hamilton or Bottas may see the podium tomorrow after the checkers fly.

AlphaTauri had a very nice day of qualifying, with Pierre Gasly slotting in at P6 and the somewhat erratic rookie Yuki Tsunoda coming home seventh fastest. Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel was solid in P8 but will have to start behind his teammate Lance Stroll, who qualified P10, after it was judged that Vettel had impeded Alpine’s Fernando Alonso during Q2, earning the veteran German driver a three-spot grid penalty. And another up-and-coming young Englishman, Williams’ George Russell, broke through into Q3 and set a time good enough for ninth fastest in that final quali session, an exciting milestone for both the rebuilding team and their ambitious and talented young pilot.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Austrian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:04.249 1:03.927 1:03.720 16
2 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:04.345 1:04.415 1:03.768 19
3 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:04.833 1:04.483 1:03.990 24
4 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:04.506 1:04.258 1:04.014 18
5 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:04.563 1:04.376 1:04.049 19
6 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI HONDA 1:04.841 1:04.412 1:04.107 21
7 22 Yuki Tsunoda ALPHATAURI HONDA 1:04.967 1:04.518 1:04.273 21
8 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES 1:04.846 1:04.493 1:04.570 20
9 63 George Russell WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:04.907 1:04.553 1:04.591 15
10 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES 1:04.927 1:04.547 1:04.618 21

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN beginning at 9AM Eastern here in the States. With Verstappen having won three out of the last four contests and looking to pull away from Hamilton in the championship, the stars seem aligned for him to so at this favorite track barring unexpected drama. The real question is if Norris can keep Perez, Hamilton and Bottas behind him for a very special result. It’s a big ask but young Lando has been building up to that kind of breakthrough all season. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2021 F1 Grand Prix of Styria — Qualifying results

Verstappen grabs second consecutive pole to line up P1 for Styrian GP; hard luck Bottas betters Hamilton for P2 but will drop 3 spots due to penalty

The ascendent Max Verstappen, Red Bull’s top driver and the current points leader in the Championship after seven rounds, scored his second pole on the trot during Saturday qualifying to secure the top starting spot for tomorrow’s Styrian Grand Prix. Six days after winning at Paul Ricard in France, Verstappen earned even more satisfaction by setting the fastest time at his team’s home circuit, the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, and setting himself up nicely for potential back-to-back victories in this second race of a three-week “triple header” of consecutive contests (the third of which will be at this exact circuit next week). Verstappen got the better of both Mercedes drivers relatively easily and the day’s competition for starting spots saw Valtteri Bottas actually outclass his more lauded teammate, Lewis Hamilton, P2 to P3, after Hamilton had a very scruffy final lap in Q3. However, true to the Finn’s luck so far this season, Bottas will be penalized three grid spots for dangerous driving in the pits earlier in practice and will have to start back amongst the midfield runners in P5, elevating Hamilton to the front row alongside his archrival Verstappen.

Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez was well off the pace of his team leader and could only set the fifth fastest time, as he saw himself bettered by the theoretically inferior McLaren of Lando Norris, who crossed the line with a flying lap good enough for P4. AlphaTauri also looked strong here in Spielberg, with Pierre Gasly setting a time good enough for P6 and the erratic rookie Yuki Tsunoda coming home eighth fastest. Tsunoda will also be penalized three grid spots, though, after the stewards ruled that the young Japanese had impeded Bottas’ qualifying efforts during Q3. Ferrari had their pace deficit exposed again since leaving the slower street circuits behind them. A week after the team scored zero points in France, Charles Leclerc was only able to muster a P7 qualifying effort, while teammate Carlos Sainz really struggled and was knocked out in Q2 with only the eleventh fastest lap. One has to wonder what the Prancing Horses will really have come race day, where they seem to be at a pace disadvantage to teams like McLaren, AlphaTauri and even Alpine and Aston Martin over the long runs.

Speaking of those latter two teams, they rounded out the top ten qualifiers, with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso enjoying his day with a P9 quali effort and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll taking P10, well ahead of his teammate Sebastian Vettel, who underperformed after a run of good results and could only set a rather pokey P14 time in Q2.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Styrian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:04.489 1:04.433 1:03.841 20
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:04.537 1:04.443 1:04.035 23
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:04.672 1:04.512 1:04.067 25
4 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:04.584 1:04.298 1:04.120 17
5 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:04.638 1:04.197 1:04.168 21
6 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI HONDA 1:04.765 1:04.429 1:04.236 18
7 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:04.745 1:04.646 1:04.472 21
8 22 Yuki Tsunoda ALPHATAURI HONDA 1:04.608 1:04.631 1:04.514 21
9 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 1:04.971 1:04.582 1:04.574 18
10 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES 1:04.821 1:04.663 1:04.708 18

Complete qualifying results and the penalty-effected starting grid available via Fomula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN beginning at 9AM here in the States. With Hamilton struggling on this short little circuit and Verstappen looking dominant as he should at the aptly named Red Bull Ring, look for some early aggression on Lewis’s part to try to pull himself back on even terms with the superlative Dutchman. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Styria (Austria II) — Results & aftermath

Hamilton returns to dominating form with victory in Styrian GP, Bottas strong for Mercedes 1-2; hobbled Verstappen P3; Ferraris crash each other out to complete disastrous weekend

Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton didn’t have to wait long to get the bad taste of last week’s penalty-induced P4 finish put of his mouth. After grabbing pole in rain-soaked conditions yesterday, Hamilton was back to his usual championship form on race day in beautifully dry & sunny conditions for this back half of the doubleheader of races at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. The English six-time F1 champ simply ran away from the field on Lap 1 of the Styrian Grand Prix, never to be seen again by any of the other top contenders and with no bothersome electrical gremlins forcing him to tame his aggression, as was required in race one. In the end, it was all rather procedural for Hamilton on this day, as he reminded everyone that he is still the man to beat in Formula 1 and made his intentions clearer than ever of tying the great Michael Schumacher’s record seven World Championships this very year.

It was also a better day for Mercedes as a team than last week, as their number two man Valtteri Bottas, who won the first Austrian race to open the season, was able to pounce on the wounded Red Bull of Max Vertsappen late in today’s contest to seize P2 and compliment Hamilton’s victory. Fighting gamely with a damaged front wing and an underpowered machine compared to the supreme Silver Arrows, Verstappen was able to re-pass the hard charging Bottas on Lap 66 but had to yield to the inevitable on Lap 67 of this 71-lap contest. It was a good recovery drive from Bottas, who started from P4 on the grid after failing to fully come to grips with Saturday’s very challenging wet qualifying conditions. Still, it must give the veteran Finn some pause that he ended up over 13.7 seconds adrift of his teammate after he had bested him so handily last week for an encouraging season-starting win. Continue reading →

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Styria (Austria II) — Qualifying results

Mercedes’ Hamilton secures scintillating pole amidst torrential conditions at Red Bull Ring; Red Bull’s Verstappen P2 despite late spin, Sainz P3 for improving McLaren; Ferrari in trouble

For the first time in Formula 1 history two races will be run at the same circuit on back-to-back weekends, and the dubious honor goes to the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. But it was the weather that lent real distinction to this second race weekend of the 2020 season and not the fig leaf of a new title, the Grand Prix of Styria, for what is in reality simply a second identical Austrian GP. With the travel and logistics concerns necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic forcing this normally globe-hopping motorsport series to compress the schedule and repeat races at some European circuits on consecutive weekends, this Saturday’s “Styria” qualifying  was nonetheless completely distinct from last weekend’s sunny “Austrian” affair and offered up a lot of excitement and surprising results to match.

Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton bested this generation’s nominal Rainmeister, Red Bull’s Max Vertstappen, to seize the pole in torrential and thoroughly treacherous conditions at this valley track nestled among the Styrian Mountains. Verstappen and Hamilton had been trading provisional pole throughout Q3, during which the weather actually deteriorated again, after slightly lightening up for the delayed start of Q1 and into Q2. But when Vertsappen lost control and spun harmlessly late in his final try with time expired in the final session, it meant Hamilton had secured pole after an outstanding and supremely well controlled effort under these adverse circumstances. Continue reading →

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Austria — Results & aftermath

FORMULA 1 RETURNS — Bottas takes victory in long-delayed first race of 2020 season but Hamilton loses P2 due to penalty; Leclerc promoted to P2 and Norris to P3 in wild opening round

After a nearly four month delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Forumla 1 season finally kicked off on Sunday at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. After such a long layoff between seasons it was a somewhat predictably wild and ragged race, although Mercedes was once again the class of the field. With their new black livery, the Silver Arrows took pole and second fastest times during Saturday qualifying, with their usual number 2 man, Valtterri Bottas  claiming pole position for Sunday’s race ahead of P2 teammate and reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton. In a harbinger of things to come, Hamilton was demoted 3 spots for failing to slow properly for yellow flags during quali. That meant Hamilton, on a quest for his record-tying seventh Drivers’ Championship, had to start from back in P5 on the grid, while Max Verstappen, whose Red Bull team had lodged the last minute complaint against Lewis, was elevated to P2 alongside Bottas.

Image courtesy GrandPrix247.com

When the lights went out to start the race, though, Bottas blew the Red Bull off the line and shot away from the rest of the field, leaving the rest of the top 9 squabbling amongst themselves and the speedy Hamilton fighting his way back to the front. After avoiding contact going into Turn 1, the Champ quickly began dispatching his slower rivals, getting by McLaren’s Lando Norris for P4 on Lap 4 and subsequently past the competitive second Red Bull of Alexander Albon on Lap 9 for P3. It should have set up a fascinating tussle with Verstappen but on Lap 11 the Dutchman’s Red Bull went haywire with the electrical system repeatedly putting his machine into anti-stall mode. Unfortunately the malfunction proved terminal and Verstappen was out of the race just like that. Once again, as it has been so many times since 2014, mighty Mercedes saw their two drivers dominating yet another Grand Prix from the front.

Verstappen’s was the first of many retirements on a very hot summer’s day in Austria, with Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo going out on Lap 18, Racing Point’s Lance Stroll calling it a day on Lap 21 and beleaguered Haas’ Kevin Magnussen suffering break failure on Lap 26, which brought out the day’s first Safety Car. It would not be the last. Continue reading →