With the Styrian GP now in the books, let us look back at the major talking points from the first of two Formula 1 races in Spielberg.
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After a run of enthralling races at Azerbaijan and France, the Styrian GP bumped F1 fans back to reality. The first of two rounds at the Red Bull Ring will not be remebered as a classic for the ages. But that will be of little botheration to Red Bull and Max Verstappen, who built up their lead over Mercedes in the driver’s and constructor’s championship. For Mercedes, it was an afternoon to forget. They weren’t poor but most certainly lacked the pace to challenge the Red Bulls. As things stand, Red Bull look set to extend their dominance over the defending world champions.
With the Styrian GP now in the books, let us look back at the major talking points from the first of two races in Spielberg.
The last time F1 held the Styrian GP was to begin the 2020 season, which saw a delayed start. It was meant to be a one-off but Covid-19 related cancellations meant it happened for the second straight year. Red Bull, who own the circuit the race is held on, will be supremely happy that they get to race here in the coming week too.
To put things in perspective, the last race in Austria saw Lewis Hamilton win by a margin of over 30 seconds. This weekend, the defending world champion finished second by that margin. Red Bull’s recent dominance, thus, carries on unfettered.
After the race, both team principal Christian Horner and lead driver Max Verstappen stressed on the need to keep working hard. The season is nowhere near over yet and Mercedes will most likely fight back. But they can be mighty pleased with the job they’ve done so far.
Hamilton is not too used to losing, so it came as little surprise that he cut a frustrated figure over team radio all afternoon. Mercedes knew they lacked straight-line pace, which is where Red Bull excelled. But Hamilton’s exasperation at being told the best he can finish is second said a lot.
After the race, he said upgrades to the car are needed but not in the pipeline. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff went one step further, saying they will most certainly not develop the car any more. The main focus, he added, is on 2022, with new regulations kicking in.
Is this a red herring or the real deal? Horner seems to think it’s the latter, and one can understand why. The car clearly needs a change, as at Spielberg they were losing at least 0.2 seconds per lap in the race. Should they choose to stick with this car, it will go down as one of the meekest surrenders ever in the sport.
You really have to feel for George Russell at this point. The British driver has found himself in point-scoring positions every now and then, yet something happens that keeps on wrecking his races. At least this time, he can safely say it was no fault of his own.
Russell started 10th after Yuki Tsunoda was handed a three-place grid penalty and, at one point, was up to 8th. This would guarantee him 3 championship points. Unfortunately, his power unit had other ideas. The failure of the power unit saw Russell forced to retire.
Afterwards, he admitted he was disappointed but determined to push on and score points in the upcoming Austrian GP. Given he’s supposedly primed to replace Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes, a good showing will only be a bonus.
The battle for the ‘best of the rest’ constructor’s spot continues to heat up. McLaren looked the stronger of two teams in qualifying, with Lando Norris starting third on the grid. Yet by the end of the race it was Ferrari who had the better weekend.
Both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were among the points, with Daniel Ricciardo the victim of car issues that cost him a spot in the points. One can expect plenty more highlights from these teams at the same venue come the next race weekend.
When Esteban Ocon signed his new deal with Alpine, it was widely seen as a good move. After all, Fernando Alonso was already signed on for next year so why not tie Ocon to a long-term deal too. However, the Frenchman has had two races to forget since then.
The race at Austria was much worse, with Ocon finishing 14th even as Alonso finished 9th. That’s two straight points finishes for the two-time champion, who suddenly has the beating of his younger teammate. Alpine will doubtless hope for more from their younger driver, who started the season well enough but is now on the verge of petering out.
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