The Austrian grand prix is 71 laps in total, and we had to wait until, at least, 60 for it to kick off. But before we get to the race proper there was the mater of the Sprint race on Saturday. Max Verstappen got pole by less than a tenth of a second over Lando Norris and also led the McLaren driver home for the full number of points on Saturday.
Qualifying for Sunday’s grand prix wasn’t as close though. The Red Bull hit its stride in Austria and proved it with Verstappen’s pole lap which was nearly four tenths quicker than Norris’s best effort in second. Nevertheless, the expectation remained that the McLaren would be able to challenge for the win. But it didn’t quite seem to be the case as Verstappen not only led cleanly from the start but was able to steadily build a gap to Norris. By the second, and final, round of stops for the top two, Verstappen had a near eight second gap over Norris who, in turn, was more than ten seconds clear of third placed George Russell in the Mercedes. But as the stint on hard tyres drew to its conclusion Verstappen reported struggling for rear grip especially while Norris was able to lap marginally faster. The pair entered the pitlane together on lap 52. A sticky right-rear wheel cost Verstappen a handful of seconds and Norris emerged from the pitlane only two seconds behind the Red Bull.
Norris was able to close within DRS range of Verstappen within a couple of laps and the race was on. Norris attempted a move into turn 3 but was thwarted by Verstappen much to the McLaren driver’s frustration who claimed over team radio that Verstappen had moved in the braking zone. Norris tried again on lap 59 but ran off track and had to cede the position. Two laps the roles reversed, and Verstappen ran off the track and maintained the lead of the race. It came to a boiling point on lap 64 when the two made contact, both suffering punctures. This left Russell, running a comfortable third, to sweep through into the lead of the race. At this point Oscar Piastri also overtook Sainz for second, relegating the Spaniard to third. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth while Verstappen recovered to fifth. Nico Hulkenberg was sixth for Haas ahead of Checo Perez in seventh and the second Haas of Kevin Magnussen in eighth. Daniel Ricciardo scored some welcome points in ninth and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was tenth. Mercedes may have lucked into the win, but you have to be in it to win it. Russell was only 15 seconds adrift of the dueling Verstappen and Norris too, which underlines the progress that Mercedes have made.
The move on lap 64 is a contentious one. And here is what is likely to happen. Blame will be placed on either side, and it’ll be debated for a good while yet. The good news is that the Formula 1 world championship has within it an exhilarating battle that is, literally, being run within centimeters of peril. Some might say that Max Verstappen was determined to throwback to his first few years in Formula 1. Back then he was erratic in wheel-to-wheel combat and wasn’t only dubbed ‘Crashstappen’ but was also responsible for what is known as the Verstappen rule. This rule states that a driver is not allowed to move in the braking zone, which Verstappen clearly did not heed in Austria.
It’s abundantly clear that Verstappen moves to the outside, of turn 3, and attempts to crowd Norris off the track. It would’ve worked too but then there was a McLaren in the way. Both suffered punctures. In Norris’s case it brought his race to an end. Verstappen was fifth in the end despite a 10 second penalty. The gap over sixth place was such that the penalty had no impact. This type of penalty, which effectively has no punitive impact on the guilty party is perhaps something that needs to be reconsidered by the rule makers, especially if the other car involved is forced into retirement because of the incident.
Verstappen didn’t want to place blame anywhere after the race, but Red Bull were quick to blame Norris for the contact. Lest we forget Verstappen attempted a similar type of move on Charles Leclerc in 2019, albeit a little later into the corner. At that time, he didn’t get any kind of penalty and went on to win the race. This time it’ll be, rightly, viewed as costly incident by both sides. But it is also indicative of how close the battle on track is. F1 heads to Silverstone this weekend for only the twelfth race of the season. There is still a heap of racing to go and if this is what we have to look forward to, if this is how close it promises to be going forward then bring it on.
