The second of Formula 1’s Triple Header turned the form book on its head, delivered an unexpected winner, and left several midfield squads drinking in the delights of a strong points haul. Motorsport Week presents its conclusions from the Austrian Grand Prix.
Gives you wins
When Red Bull invested heavily in the dilapidated A1-Ring at the start of the decade it was dominating Formula 1 but by the time the revived Austrian Grand Prix returned in 2014 fierce rivals Mercedes had vaulted to the top of the pecking order – and remained there for four successive years, gleefully celebrating its respective successes at a circuit owned and re-named after the energy drinks giant. History had looked set to repeat itself in 2018 but Mercedes’ exit combined with Max Verstappen’s brilliance left Red Bull finally savouring a home win – and a home triumph of sorts for Verstappen on account of the throng of Dutch supporters who had travelled South to Styria to turn several grandstands orange.
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Verstappen’s win was multi-layered and came about through three key developments: Mercedes’ misfortune, a feisty first lap, and his own ability to preserve the delicate Soft tyres. Verstappen’s opportunistic move on Kimi Raikkonen through Turn 6 ultimately gave him the track position that he was able to preserve through to the chequered flag, running a 57-lap stint on Soft tyres. Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton encountered blistering on the harder rubber. The lower degradation meant less rubber was being removed, thus leading to more heat spots, accentuated by a track surface that was 20 degrees warmer than when teams had carried out race simulations on Friday afternoon. Verstappen protected his rear tyres through the high-speed heavy-kerbed final couple of corners and the lack of immediate pressure from Raikkonen meant he could take it easy during the crucial first few laps when blistering occurs. “We could see the start of blisters just starting to happen,” explained Red Bull chief Christian Horner. “But he was able to manage that. He was very much in control. He was getting the information from the pit wall, he was using the tools he had available to him. And a really very mature drive from him to make sure he had just enough left in the last five or 10 laps.” By the time Ferrari realised that it too was not suffering from blisters it was too late – Raikkonen reduced Verstappen’s five-second advantage but a proper chase was never on the cards.
Everything that could go wrong…
Mercedes was in total control of the Austrian Grand Prix, having swatted away the threat off-the-line from Ultrasoft-shod Raikkonen to hold a 1-2. It was all so serene. And then it was anything but. Valtteri Bottas’ early exit, owing to a loss in hydraulic pressure, ironically triggered the Virtual Safety Car period that skewered Lewis Hamilton, the first step in an afternoon that gradually unravelled into oblivion. Mercedes, as it did in China when it lacked available tyres, did not react to the VSC phase, despite Bottas’ stoppage coming at the start of the pit window. It proved to be a critical error.
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“The VSC came out we had half a lap to react and we didn't. Fact,” commented Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. “This is where we lost the race. At that stage with the VSC, pitting is probably the 80 per cent thing you need to do. With one car out there against two others the thinking process was what would happen if the other split their cars? If we pit Lewis we could come out behind Kimi or behind Max, and that while thinking [that on a] loop did not distract us, we spent too much time on it.” Hamilton’s rivals all pitted for fresh Softs, giving Mercedes two strategic options: hope that Hamilton could increase his 13-second lead to the 21-second mark he needed, or hope that he could use ostensibly fresher tyres to claw back the gap after his pit stop. Ultimately, neither prospect came to fruition. Strategist James Volwes’ grovelling apology did little to quell the anger bubbling inside Hamilton’s helmet, and he was unable to pull clear at the restart. His stop therefore dropped him into the pack, his mood little improved, as he was overhauled superbly by Vettel, and blistered the Soft tyres. Would Hamilton have blistered the Softs had he been in clear air up front? Probably not. We’ll never know. Ultimately the machinations of the strategic battle proved irrelevant for this race when a fuel pressure problem halted his W09 with eight laps remaining, but for future events it is vital for Mercedes to learn from its mistake. From 2014 to 2016 it had such a pace advantage that it could afford to drop the ball. It now cannot. And it is not the first time this year that, under pressure, Mercedes has been the team to make the error. Wolff and Hamilton, though, offered slightly different viewpoints as to the approach moving forward.
“No, we don’t need to make changes,” said Wolff. “The most important thing is to understand why an error happens and go back into the situation and analyse. I don’t think we’d make an error twice. The situation is different this year, we are fighting, six cars, and that is just a tough situation.”
Hamilton commented: “We’ve got to find a bulletproof method to move forward for strategy. If our car was still going it was an easy win for us. Ultimately the guys on the pit wall… you have to put 100 percent faith in. They have the full picture and all I can see is the guy in front of me and the guy behind me, and actually at the time when I was in the lead I couldn’t see where they were. So in those circumstances you have to rely fully on the pit wall. We have to definitely work hard to try to understand where we have gone wrong on both ends.”
Mercedes’ pace was strong in Austria – substantial chassis updates complementing the Phase 2.1 engine upgrade introduced in France – and there is no doubt that it will be the team to beat this weekend at Silverstone. But there is every reason to expect several upcoming events to feature either a VSC or Safety Car period. When they occur, Mercedes cannot afford to make the wrong call.
Good, or bad?
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Ferrari had the second-fastest package, profited from Mercedes’ surprise malaise, and yet did not take victory. That Mercedes was so rapid on a circuit that ostensibly should have suited the SF71-H should come as a slight concern, but more pressing was a so-so Grand Prix, in the circumstances. Raikkonen was superb off the line but his hesitation thereafter was frustrating as a potential second became fourth in quick succession, casting the die for the remainder of the race. Yes, he finished runner-up, but this was a race where victory was within his reach had he executed a better first lap, with opportunities thereafter also missed, both by himself and the Ferrari pit wall. Vettel should have been in prime position to profit but Ferrari’s mis-information in Q2 meant he held up Carlos Sainz Jr., copping a penalty that relegated him from third to sixth, and a scruffy first lap delayed his recovery. Vettel’s pace was encouraging – making clinical manoeuvres without damaging the rubber – and his grassy move on Hamilton was outstanding, the little dink as they braked for Turn 3 sweetly finishing off the Briton. A haul of 15 points vaulted Vettel back into the title lead, the fifth time this year the advantage has exchanged hands, but he was right to feel a little conflicted at the chequered flag. “Obviously it looked different after lap one than it did going into the last lap, but I think we had a really good car, really good pace,” he said. “Obviously we were quite far back after lap one and we recovered well. I’m happy with the podium, I think it was a great race, but equally I think there was more up for grabs. So a bit mixed, if you see what I mean?”
I’m feeling 22
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The higher-than-usual rate of attrition among the front-runners was good news for a bulk of midfield teams, and it was Haas that deservedly profited to record its best-ever result. Romain Grosjean arrived in Austria point-less in 12 Grands Prix, during which spell he crashed behind the Safety Car, triggered a multi-car pile-up, and spun out of qualifying at his home event. But in Austria he was superb, consigning his wretched run to the history books, while Kevin Magnussen reinforced Haas’ pace with a strong drive to fifth place. It earned Haas a haul of 22 points – the same number it let slip through its fingers in Australia. “It’s a redemption, we got back,” said team boss Guenther Steiner. “Because everybody said the team must be demoralised but they never were. I always said everyone knows the potential of the cars. It will come if you work hard. It came. It’s fantastic that in the 50th race, to finish fourth and fifth. You can imagine how happy they are. Romain scored for the first time this year, heavy points, not just a few. So it’s just a very successful weekend.” Steiner was also ecstatic for Grosjean, who has been part of the Haas project since its first steps into the sport. “We always gave him our confidence, he has been good for us for a long time and we knew he would come back to be the Romain he was last year.”
A mixed lot
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Force India’s drivers have clamoured for much-awaited updates in a bid to keep pace with the development battle and Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez fared well to bag sixth and seventh, in front of Fernando Alonso, who used an old-spec front wing on his MCL33 to surge from the pit lane to eighth. He cannily preserved his tyres in order to overhaul the less experienced Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson late on, though the duo nonetheless gave Sauber its first double points finish since 2015. Leclerc was sucked into the Turn 5 gravel while battling Pierre Gasly on the opening lap as his aggressive approach, bidding to reclaim spots lost through his gearbox penalty, backfired. But the high rate of attrition, and a mature drive thereafter, earned Leclerc more points, while Ericsson added to his couple from Bahrain. Gasly felt eighth was possible had his car not resembled a rallycross machine – his words – on account of the damage his floor and suspension sustained in a Turn 3 clash with Stoffel Vandoorne. “Every time I’d turn into a left-hander it was like when you have a bent steering in a go-kart: for one side you have super-oversteer, to the other you have super-understeer,” he said. “And then of course it was also affecting the tyre life because I was sliding in every corner and that destroyed the tyres.” Vandoorne’s error, combined with Alonso’s pit lane start, meant McLaren briefly had the ignominy of its drivers occupying the last two positions, while the haul of points grasped by its midfield opponents means it has been usurped by Haas and is now not far ahead of Force India. It could easily end its home Grand Prix this weekend seventh of the 10 entrants. McLaren at least fared better in Austria than Renault and Williams. Carlos Sainz Jr. suffered extreme tyre blistering before watching his beloved Spanish football team dumped out of the World Cup, while a turbo failure sent Nico Hulkenberg out of the race, complete with smoke and fire. As for Williams… it was exactly the kind of Grand Prix that presented a slither of an opportunity, and both drivers reckoned that the layout of the Red Bull Ring would be more conducive to the FW41. Lance Stroll made Q2 but thereafter Williams was anonymous, trailing home a twice-lapped 13th and 14th, with Stroll penalised for ignoring blue flags at the behest of his team. Sirotkin is now the only driver without a point, and Williams is a surely insurmountable 12 behind Sauber.
George rustles up the youngsters
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Lando Norris has taken the mantle from Charles Leclerc as the most-hyped driver in junior motorsport – and with good reason, on account of his Formula 3 title and eye-catching Formula 1 test runs. But with each passing event it is becoming impossible to ignore the credentials of George Russell. Mercedes-backed Russell, another to impress in F1 runs last year, has taken successive pole positions and was outstanding in Austria, controlling the Feature Race for win number four before charging from eighth to second in the Sprint Race, clinically sweeping past opponents on successive laps into Turn 1. Allied to Norris’ “disaster” of a Sprint Race it meant the title lead changed hands for the first time in 2018, Russell now atop the pile. And consider that Russell was wiped out of victory in the Baku Feature Race, lost all of his practice session upon his Monaco debut after an engine problem, and had another issue in the French Sprint Race. Could the polite-yet-steely Russell emulate Leclerc in taking back-to-back GP3 and F2 championships? At the moment, he looks a very good bet. But therein lies the next problem – just where could Russell go for 2019? Unlike compatriot Norris, Russell does not have an obvious opening, even with his strong Mercedes affiliation.
Austrian awesomeness
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Visiting Austria just a few days after France provided stark contrasts in the organisation of a Grand Prix. Whereas France was not well-received by fans or many in the paddock, Austria was the opposite, with little – if any – in the way of traffic jams, despite quoting a four-day attendance figure 20,000 higher than their French counterparts (185,000 to 165,000). Whereas security officials in France looked perturbed to encounter visitors, staff at the Red Bull Ring were typically welcoming, while the facilities were also vastly superior this weekend. Yes, Austria has a major highway just a stone’s throw from the circuit, and yes Austria has more recent experience, as well as funding from Red Bull. But the contrast between the events should prove to organisers at Paul Ricard how to run a Grand Prix properly. I know which event I would recommend to budding spectators…
