Formula 1 2024: Austrian Grand Prix
Track Insights:
The Austrian Grand Prix track, also known as the Red Bull Ring, is located in Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The history of the circuit dates back to 1969 when it was originally built as the Österreichring. The track quickly gained popularity for its fast and challenging layout nestled within the picturesque Austrian mountains. Over the years, the track underwent several renovations to improve safety and meet evolving FIA standards. In 1996, the circuit was rebuilt and renamed the A1-Ring until 2011 when it was acquired by Red Bull's Dietrich Mateschitz and transformed into the modern facility known as the Red Bull Ring. Today, the Austrian Grand Prix track continues to host thrilling races in the heart of the Austrian countryside, attracting fans from around the world.
Starting Grid:
Pole Position: Max Verstappen: Red Bull
P2: Lando Norris: Mclaren
P3: George Russell: Mercedes
P4: Carlos Sainz: Ferrari
P5: Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes
P6: Charles Leclerc: Ferrari
P7: Oscar Piastri: Mclaren
P8: Sergio Perez: Red Bull
P9: Esteban Ocon: Alpine
P10: Niko Hulkenburg: HAAS
P11: Daniel Ricardo: VCRB
P12: Kevin Magnussen: HAAS
P13: Pierre Gasly: Alpine
P14: Yuki Tsunoda: VCRB
P15: Fernando Alonso: Aston Martin
P16: Alex Albon: Williams
P17: Lance Stroll: Aston Martin
P18: Valtteri Bottas: Sauber
P19: Logan Sargeant: Williams
P20: Zhou Guanyu: Sauber
Race Highlights
Sooooooo Mercedes taking P1 wasn’t on my bingo card for this race. Not sure it was on anyone else’s either to be honest. However, I think something slightly more significant was overshadowed by the Brit’s second race win. Red Bull has an issue. And a very large on at that.
To start the race, we saw 19 cars line up on the grid- it was announced earlier that the Sauber of Zhou Guanyu would start from the pit lane due to set up changes being made after qualifying (does it matter it really matter though?). The wind made itself known at the top of the hill where they were clocked at least 40kph- causing George Russell’s Mercedes to lock up. Once the lights went out and the show was underway, Verstappen pulled ahead while Russell and Norris jockied for the second with the Mclaren winning out. Russell’s teammate Hamilton made a swift and early move of the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and positioned himself into 4th place but the Spaniard would take the place back a few laps later.
Ferrari’s luck unfortunately would not be changing this race. Charles Leclerc suffered damage on turn 1 when his front wing made contact with the Mclaren of Oscar Piastri- putting him practically at the back of the field by the time he came out of the pits. I kid you not, he was P18 at one point and his race engineer is on the radio telling him that there is still a chance for him to get into the points. Spoiler alert- he did not finish in the points. The decline from Ferrari from the start of this season is truly disheartening as they have so much potential that is being squandered.
Anywho- let’s get to why we are all here. The DRAMA. I think we were all on the edge of our seats as we saw the Red Bull of Max Verstappen being hunted yet again by the Mclaren of Lando Norris. The difference this time? He didn’t wait until the very end to try and close an 8 second gap. A slow pit stop at lap 52 helped as well as both cars raced to the pits to swap out tires which cut the gap to a mere two seconds by the time they got back out onto the track. Here is where it got nail bitingly exciting and frustrating. During the final 16 laps, there was lunging and defending and breaking and diving from the two front runners. Norris was on his radio complaining about Verstappen’s defensive tactics while the Dutchman was on his radio to explain an unstable and uncomfortable feeling that something was wrong with the car.
As the laps were grinding down, the battle raged on. Norris briefly got ahead of Verstappen only to go off the track and have to give the position back. Now- with the tension brewing- it eventually boiled over. Just two laps later (64) Norris and Verstappen had swapped places when the Red Bull had also gone off the track. This brought out the side of Max that arguably hasn’t been seen since 2021 (if you know you know) aggressive. So much so that he and Norris collided in dramatic fashion- effectively ending Norris’ potentially race winning drive and knocking him back to P5. Through all the malay, the unsuspecting Mercedes of Russell- who was well back in P3 swept through. Much to the excitement of his team (Team Principle Toto Wolff got so excited he actually scared George by hoping on the radio to inform him that he could win it).
And that was what he went on to do. Now I know what you’re thinking. He won it by chance and you are absolutely correct. In this writer’s opinion, Russell and Mercedes didn’t have the pace to win this race. Had the ‘touching’ of Mclaren and Red Bull not happened, he would have been sitting on the 3rd step of that podium instead of the top. Post race interviews with Max and Lando revealed that they were blaming each other of the incident while Mclaren and many other teams pointed out that this is not the first time these tactics were used by the reigning World Champion but now that it’s impacted him, he’s going to fuss about it. The real question is where the friendship between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen survive? Only time will tell.
Podium:
P1: George Russell: Mercedes (25)
P2: Oscar Piastri: Mclaren (18)
P3: Carlos Sainz: Ferrari (15)
