Austrian Grand Prix

Racing Fans

Last race in Montreal saw a big clash in the closing stages, with the McLaren’s of Norris and Piastri coming together in the final laps. Russell won, ahead of Verstappen and Antonelli’s first career podium. Piastri now leads Norris by 22 points in the Driver’s championship, with McLaren 175 points ahead of Mercedes in the Constructor’s.

This week we’re racing at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. The track has 3 DRS zones and many overtaking opportunities. The track requires some major decisions from the teams: they can optimize for the DRS zones with a low-downforce setup, or they can choose to attack in the downhill through turns 4-8 with a higher downforce setup.

Austria is usually one of the best races of the year. There is plenty of overtaking, a challenging track with off-camber turns, and gorgeous scenery in the Styrian Alps.

In qualifying, Norris starts on pole after completed the sweep of being fastest in Q1, Q2, and Q3. He’ll start ahead of Leclerc, Piastri, and Hamilton. Verstappen starts in 7^th, sandwiched between Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto. The qualifying session was suspended briefly after Lewis Hamilton ran wide at Turn 10 and started a fire in the dry grass next to the track. Dry conditions this weekend could see another fire-induced red flag, though the race organizers will be be watering heavily to mitigate the issue.

W2W4: Drivers

Gabriel Bortoleto managed to qualify 8^th on the grid, lining up next to Max Verstappen on the grid. Bortoleto is a stud at the Austrian track, having won F2 here last year, and he is supremely overperforming in the Sauber. Watch him and Verstappen at the start. F1 starts are chaotic at the best of times and it usually takes the drivers a season or so to develop their sense of space in the bigger, twitchier F1 cars. He’ll need to keep an eye on Verstappen, who will have to get ahead of Liam Lawson in the VCARB, but this will be Bortoleto’s best chance for points this year.

W2W4: On the Track

Track limits are historically a big issue here. In 2023, 8 drivers were penalized for exceeding track limits repeatedly. Last year they added additional blue lines and gravel traps to help stewards judge when drivers are on or off track, but there were still issues. Track limits could be an issue this weekend, especially as the high temperatures will lead to degradation that will make the drivers more likely to run wide. Keep an eye on Turns 9 and 10, which were major offenders in prior years. This will be especially critical for Verstappen: too many track limits penalties will accrue him a penalty point that will result in a race ban.

W2W4: Off the Track

Carlos Sainz Sr. has opted to not submit his candidacy for FIA president, so it appears Ben Sulayem will be running unopposed. Drivers and teams are unhappy with how the FIA has been leading the sport, especially with the ban on driver behaviors and the dismissive attitude towards driver concerns. Despite recently guidelines to foster transparency for drivers and stewards, many top executives in the FIA have left recently citing challenges of transparency and a challenging work environment. Ben Sulayem will soon need to tap new executives for his cabinet at the FIA, and his choices will inform the direction of the next four-year term as head of the sport’s governing body.

Weather for the Austrian GP will be warm and sunny, with air temperatures around 87F/31C at race time. Track temperatures will be high , and drivers will have to manage the rear temperatures to avoid excessive thermal degradation. The race starts at 9am EST, 2pm London time, and 3pm track time. After the race the teams will head to England for next week’s British GP.

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