#1068 2022 Austrian Grand Prix

Then, he analyzes the possible strategies of the weekend:

"From a strategy point of view, Spielberg lends itself to a race with more than one stop, particularly as Pirelli is bringing its three softest compounds - C3, C4, C5. The inherently high degradation of these tires, along with the ease of overtaking, could produce a photo-finish, of the sort we see in motorcycle racing at this track. I expect a lot of changes of position, including for the lead, all the way to the checkered flag".

Charles Leclerc talks about the last race weekend:

"After the race in Silverstone, Binotto he was actually pissed off at me because I was too down, and so he was trying to cheer me up. Everybody was wondering why he was putting the finger like this, but I think he was just frustrated to see me so down after such a great race. On the other hand, it’s obviously understandable, he understood my disappointment - leading the race and finishing fourth".

Then, he comments on the teams’ choices:

"If the team has to chose between me and Carlos? It is not my choice, you have to ask it to Mattia. We just have to make sure that this type of thing doesn’t happen too much in a season and for me, it’s more the accumulation in the last five races that is hard to take, because the reliability issues and the different issues that we’ve had in the last races means that I haven’t even been on the podium in the last five races, so it’s not easy".

Finally, the Ferrari driver says he is motivated and thinks that this can be a great weekend:

"I am as motivated as I was before.I’m coming into this weekend with full confidence that we can have a great weekend, and looking long-term, I still believe as much as I did [that we can win] the championships. I feel the support of the team. It hasn’t gone our way in the last few races but again I think internally we are working as hard as ever. To give the details outside is difficult and I don’t want to go into that but we are definitely going into absolutely everything to make our situation better".

Carlos Sainz Jr. talks about the team’s work:

"I think Ferrari is doing a great work, from the last year we can see big progress, with the engine and the car as a whole.  And not by chance: every decision is calculated. I live the team from the inside, so I see a good engineers staff and drivers’ couple. Undoubtely at a certain point we will have to bet on one and this is clear both to Carlos and Charles. They know that there is no driver more important than Ferrari".

Looking back at Silverstone, Sainz Jr. says that his teammate behaved like a gentleman following the Grand Prix, despite seeing a likely victory taken from him due to a Ferrari strategy decision:

"Ferrari won, I won, so for sure it was not the wrong decision. At that time, in the car, I did perfectly know what I had to do in order to not put Charles in a compromised position but also to give Ferrari a race win, that is what the team cares the most about. I think everything I did was sensible at the end". 

So he adds:

"I didn’t put Charles under unnecessary risk or pressure while overtaking him, knowing that I was going to overtake him fairly easily on the soft. I pulled away, won the race for Ferrari and I think it was a good outcome in the end. On Sunday, it was a relatively short briefing because we had to leave to the airport and take the group picture. I think Charles had the anti-doping control, so we couldn’t share the briefing together. But like always he behaved like the gentleman like he is and the briefing went normally like the way it should go. The way it goes when I have a bad race is also a normal briefing and the way it goes when he has a bad race is a normal briefing. There was no unusual things from the car apart from maybe some extra understeer that I wasn't expecting.  I think there's a compromise to be found, because in the end, there's a lot of new places that are, I guess, paying quite a lot of money to be part of F1".

Red Bull Motorsports Advisor and Head of Driver Development, Dr. Helmut Marko, has been key to Red Bull's ascension to the top of Formula 1. His development of talented young drivers has delivered five world drivers 'titles combined for Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel and four constructors' Championships. The former F1 driver and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner reveals how to identify exceptional talent and carve them into World Champions. About Verstappen, the 79-year-old says:

"He had a very good - but also very tough - upbringing from his father. That's what shaped him".

An early marker of exceptional qualities in young talent for Dr. Marko was Verstappen's continued training when others retired:

"In Italy, you can practice karting all year round, and as soon as it starts raining, everyone heads to the cafeteria. Max was the only one who had to stay outside and keep practicing".

Dr. Marko believes that getting the drivers on track as early as possible is crucial to train and refine their skills once talent is identified. Although sometimes, a rare young talent comes along that is so bright that entry criteria should be re-evaluated. He adds:

"After Max drove his first F1 race at the age of 17, they've added a clause that says you must be at least 18. I think the age limit is wrong. If you have the right training and talent, you could even do it at 16".

There is a fine line at the elite level between race winners and World Champions, and the timing of team promotion from the junior team to senior team is another crucial factor behind Verstappen's rise. He explains:

"There was an outcry because some felt Carlos had been overlooked. His development was also very good, and the difference between the two was often very minimal, but despite having less experience, Max was the faster driver , hence our decision to move him to Red Bull Racing. Carlos was simply unlucky enough to have Max as a teammate".

When talent and skills are honed and committed to muscle memory in a highly competitive field, maturity behind the wheel becomes pivotal in the evolution from race winner to World Champion. Dr. Marko notes:

"Since his first victory (in his 2016 Red Bull Racing debut at the Spanish GP), Max has undergone an incredible growing-up process. Now he can prioritize what is important and accepts what he can't change. When he was younger, he used to swear like a trooper".

Part of that maturity is about mantaining precision and control in a high-stress environment. He explains:

"Driving against Max Verstappen is surely no fun. He takes everything to the limit, no matter what the conditions because he has incredible car control. For example, in the rain in Brazil [in 2016], there was a moment where the car went sideways at 300kph, but he managed to regain control".

Dr. Marko emphasizes the importance of pairing a teammate that compliments their talents and allows for collaboration that plays to their strengths as key to the overall team success. The introduction of the Mexican Sergio Pérez helped to take Verstappen to the next level:

"Max can drive any car fast. That's why having Sergio Pérez as his teammate is perfect. Checo doesn't try to fight but does everything he can, and that can lead to victory as it did in Baku last season. The two work very well together".

His intense battles with Mercedes from 2016 to 2021 helped Verstappen to hone his talent and his hunger to win against his fiercest rival. As a result, he finally became the Formula 1 World Champion after a clash of the titans season against Mercedes' eight-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton - a battle that came down to the final lap of the final race of the 2021 season:

"I've been at Red Bull Racing for almost 20 years, and I'd never before experienced such a - I want to say - war-like atmosphere as there was between Mercedes and us last season".

Finally, Dr. Marko draws comparisons from another F1 era:

"In terms of character, commitment, self-confidence and charisma, I'd compare him to Ayrton Senna".

Once reaching a career pinnacle, the strategy inevitably evolves to defense, achieved through understanding the evolving approach of your competitors and sustaining elite-level performance. For Verstappen, the 2022 season is very different from the last:

"The current battle with Charles Leclerc is on a different level from the one with (Lewis) Hamilton. They're the same generation and know each other from their karting days. Dueling with Ferrari is also emotionally different from dueling with Mercedes. We have a similar approach. We're both passionate fighters. I can see him (Verstappen) driving at this level for another decade".

In the first Free Practice session, on Friday, July 8, 2022, Max Verstappen sets the best time. The Dutchman clocks his time early in the session, then focuses on race simulation. Charles Leclerc finishes just over two-tenths behind, while George Russell is in third place. The Mercedes teams need two warm-up laps for their tires to set competitive times. The two Haas cars perform well, ending in fifth and ninth positions, while Lewis Hamilton and the two Alpines concentrate more on studying the car's race setup; the Alpines do not even test the medium compound tires. McLaren struggles with technical issues: Daniel Ricciardo is limited by a problem with the Drag Reduction System, while Lando Norris is forced to abandon his car on track, causing the session to be halted by race control with a red flag. Another red flag is needed when Valtteri Bottas, passing over a curb, removes part of the tire positioned between the curb and the green-painted area at the edge of the track. Race officials remove the remaining part of the tire. When qualifying begins, Charles Leclerc sets the reference time at 1'06"762. This time is beaten by his teammate, Carlos Sainz Jr., but the Spaniard has his time invalidated for exceeding track limits at turn 10. Sergio Pérez comes close to Leclerc’s time, missing it by just 44 thousandths. 

The top positions see several drivers changing places. First, it's Alonso, followed by the Haas duo. Then, the Ferrari drivers move back into first and second. It's the turn of the two Red Bulls: Pérez, and shortly after, Max Verstappen, who waits several minutes before entering the track due to a visor issue, set the fastest times. The world champion’s time is also invalidated for exceeding track limits. Alonso moves up to second, followed by Magnussen in fourth and Mick Schumacher in sixth. Russell rises to fourth before Hamilton sets a 1'06"079, the fastest time. Five teams place their drivers in the top ten, separated by only three-tenths of a second. Verstappen finally sets a valid time, and is the first to break the 1:06 barrier, with a 1'05"852. Verstappen’s time is improved by Sainz Jr., who is then beaten by Leclerc. Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, Zhou Guanyu, Nicholas Latifi, and Sebastian Vettel are eliminated. In the second phase, Leclerc sets a time of 1'05"774, but Verstappen improves it with 1'05"568. Russell also beats Leclerc, but not Verstappen’s time. The fastest of all is Hamilton, with 1'05"538, and he improves on it in his next attempt. Sainz Jr. is in fifth, while Norris makes a mistake that prevents him from being competitive. Pérez, like many of his colleagues, has his time deleted for exceeding track limits. Leclerc takes the best time again, while Norris continues to struggle with errors, preventing him from completing a clean lap. Ocon moves up to sixth, ahead of his teammate Alonso. The fastest Alpine is Kevin Magnussen in sixth, while Pierre Gasly moves into the top ten but is narrowly beaten by Pérez. 

In addition to Gasly, Alexander Albon, Bottas, Yuki Tsunoda, and Norris are eliminated. Race control announces that Pérez’s position is under investigation for potentially exceeding track limits during his best lap, but the investigation will continue only after the end of qualifying. Pérez is allowed to participate in Q3 instead of Gasly, the first driver to be eliminated. Hamilton aborts his first flying lap, while Leclerc finishes a lap in 1'05"183. Behind him is Russell, who is then beaten by Sainz Jr. Verstappen lowers the bar to 1'05"092. In his next flying lap, Hamilton goes off-track at turn 7, hitting the barriers. Race control halts the session with red flags, leaving just over five minutes remaining. When the session resumes, Russell also goes off-track at the final corner, crashing into the barriers, causing another red flag. The session is restarted with two and a half minutes left. In the final attempt, Leclerc manages to beat Verstappen’s time. Sainz Jr. is also ahead of the Dutchman. Verstappen, who is slower than the Ferraris in the first two sectors, which are typically their stronger points, manages to make up time in the third sector and retake the lead. Max Verstappen secures his 16th career pole position, and his third consecutive pole at the Red Bull Ring, surpassing Leclerc in the all-time pole position standings in Formula 1 history. Interviewed after qualifying, Max Verstappen comments on the exhausting final minutes of Q3, which was interrupted twice by red flags.

"It’s been a very difficult qualifying due to the two red flags. It’s never nice to just sit there and wait because you just want to keep going. Otherwise, you know the track temperature drops and the wind changes a bit. It’s a very demanding circuit: there are few corners, but in the ones that exist, it’s easy to make mistakes. Ultimately, I’m happy with the pole position, but it’s tomorrow and Sunday that count for points".

The Dutch driver continues by analyzing what awaits him tomorrow during the Sprint Race.

"We have a great car, even though qualifying is usually not our strong suit. Tomorrow, I hope to make it through the first corner without getting into trouble. Of course, anything can happen, but I’m quite confident in my car".

A cautious approach from the Red Bull Racing driver, who is also warned by Team Principal Christian Horner: staying out of trouble is the key. When prompted by a journalist, Verstappen also offers praise for the crowd in the stands.

"It’s amazing to see all this crowd, but especially all these Oranjes. They make me feel happy. Of course, I hope not to disappoint them and to deliver a good weekend".

With two excellent intermediates in his bag during his first attempt, Hamilton goes out and hits the barrier at turn 7 due to the opposite lock effect after losing control of the car:

"I'm incredibly disappointed in myself ultimately and so sorry to the team. Everyone worked so hard to put the car together -and I never like to bring it back damaged. I don't have an answer right now to what happened. I lost the back end in Turn Seven and that was that. I was encouraged to see our performance, though. I think we were fighting for a top three start - and we weren't expecting to be that close. That's a huge positive for the team. I'm starting quite far back, and I'm not sure what's possible from there. We have the Sprint tomorrow as well as the race on Sunday; hopefully tomorrow I can make up for some lost time".

At 6:05 p.m. the session resumes, but George Russell loses the rear of his car approaching Turn 10 and hits the barrier like his teammate:

"I think that was our best qualifying session of the year in terms of pure pace - and the worst in terms of the outcome. Racing can be like that sometimes. I could have been P4 this afternoon and I was one tenth up on my lap, and absolutely went for it because I thought there was a chance of P3. I'm feeling fine physically - but I'm concerned about the car. I hope we can recover it. In terms of performance, there are positive signs. We have brought some things to the car, and the interpretation of some rules has probably been in our favour, too. Lewis was doing a phenomenal job and absolutely flying today. Maybe I went a bit the wrong direction on set-up for qualifying; but hopefully that will be good for the race. Ordinarily we have better race pace than single lap, so hopefully tomorrow, we can make up for today".

Ferrari display a strong performance and challenges Red Bull as the car to beat on Austrian soil. The drivers of the Prancing Horse have been beaten by Verstappen, but the difference with the Anglo-Austrian team is minimal and every lap will be a fierce fight. Laurent Mekies, Racing Director, states:

"We knew it would be a very closely fought qualifying, a head-to-head between us and our competitors. During this morning’s free practice, we worked a lot on optimising our package and we were then competitive enough to fight for pole down to the nearest thousandths of a second. We didn’t manage to secure the number one slot, but that’s what can happen when the gaps are so small and it’s all part of the game. We will try and change that in the race. The main aspect of this weekend is that it’s a very long one. Effectively it’s a 400 kilometre race run in two parts. We have seen that our potential is there and that we have started out on the right footing. Now, those of us here at the track and our colleagues back in Maranello can expect a really interesting challenge. The gap to our rivals is minimal, so if we want to reverse today’s result, the slightest detail can make the difference. We will do our utmost to ensure our drivers have everything they need to extract even more performance from their F1-75s".

Charles Leclerc recriminates the difficulty of finding the perfect lap:

"It was very close, but Max was just in front today. I had some understeer after the red flags as I struggled to get the tyres back in the right window, so I didn’t have a perfect lap. It’s a shame, but it’s only Friday and it's Sunday that really counts. Tomorrow it will be important to work on driving style in FP2 and then have a very good Sprint".

While Carlos Sainz Jr. shows more satisfaction:

"That was extremely close! It was a positive qualifying in general. We managed to build the speed through the session and put in a good lap at the end. The first couple of corners of that final run were very tricky as we had lost temperature on the tyres due to the second red flag. In the end, we missed out on a better result by less than a tenth, so I think we are up for an interesting Sprint tomorrow and Grand Prix on Sunday, as we have a strong pace. We’ll prepare as best as possible and fight for a good result".

On Saturday, July 9, the teams are getting set for the last session of free practices, followed by the second sprint race of the season after that of Imola. The weather is good on the Red Bull Ring and it will be interesting to see what tyres the teams will choose, also in the sight of the Sprint Race. However, some protagonists still think about the past weekend, in Silverstone, where an unforgettable British Grand Prix took place. The main topic is still Ferrari’s strategy. The Italian team, leading the race with its two drivers, decided to call for pitting only Carlos Sainz during the Safety Car at the ending laps of the GP. He won his first ever GP, but his team mate Charles Leclerc was unlucky. The Monegasque, who was at the command, ended fourth after the restart. Before the FP2, the journalist asks other drivers to express their opinion about the episode. Lewis Hamilton, involved in the battle with the Ferraris, defines himself surprised for Ferrari’s strategy:

"When I saw Carlos going in and not Charles I was surprised. I thought that the best opportunity would have been given to the leading car, but that was not the case. I don’t know if they made a mistake. But it is sure that this episode changed the race’s result and that they talked about it".

During the Team Principals’ press conference, also Mattia Binotto talks about the past weekend: 

"Charles was very, very disappointed and frustrated and unhappy, as we are. I think his disappointment is our disappointment. When I cross him he was going to the interview and I was going to the podium. I saw him so disappointed and simply told him that he should have a smile because he's a fantastic driver. He is a champion. He proved once again how strong he is. Overall, I think we did, once again, a good weekend. We knew that Red Bull would have brought significant upgrades. We had a few upgrades as well. If I look back at the previous seasons on the wet, we never been really very fast. And this is showing again that this car is great. It’s a competitive car, whatever the conditions".

Then, he answers to a specific question and explains the Ferrari’s pit wall’s actions:

"As first what we are trying to do each single race is try to maximise the team points, because obviously there is too close two championships which are the constructors and the drivers. So by maximising the team points when I'm pretty sure that we are as well maximising the drivers’ opportunity".

For the drivers a hierarchy has been not established yet, as the Italian engineer underlines: 

"I'm pretty happy to see those two drivers fighting.

Going back to the meeting in Monte-Carlo with Charles Leclerc, he tells:

"Charles was in Monaco, it has been a back-to-back, the best opportunity for me to meet him was simply to go there and we've been there, we had dinner, we're laughing together on what we're reading in the newspapers, because we knew that was completely wrong".

The Saturday Free Practice session is used more for testing the cars in race trim, ahead of the afternoon Sprint, than for time attack. The two Ferraris top the timesheet, with Sainz Jr. narrowly ahead of Leclerc. The Italian cars use soft tires, unlike Verstappen, in third, who opts for the medium compound. The two Alpines finish fourth and fifth, outperforming the other Red Bull Racing car, driven by Pérez. Mercedes faces more problems, both cars having been damaged in Friday's official qualifying session. Russell loses the first ten minutes of the session, while Hamilton is sent out only for the final part. A few hours later, at the start of the formation lap for the Sprint Race, Fernando Alonso remains on the jacks with the tire blankets still on. The formation lap is completed, but the Spaniard is brought back to the pits and does not take part in the race. After the formation lap, Zhou Guanyu also suffers technical issues with the engine. Race control decides to carry out another formation lap, reducing the race length by one lap. The Chinese driver starts late and must begin the Sprint Race from the pit lane. The starting grid now has two absences, but the other drivers remain in their positions as determined by qualifying. 

At the start of the Sprint Race, Verstappen gets away well and maintains the lead, but is attacked at turn one by Charles Leclerc, and at turn three by Carlos Sainz Jr., who has passed his teammate in the meantime. At the first corner, Pierre Gasly spins after a contact with Lewis Hamilton but is able to continue the race. Leclerc regains second position. Pérez, starting from thirteenth, has moved up to eighth by the end of the first lap. Sainz Jr. closes in on Leclerc, looking faster than his teammate. On lap four, Lewis Hamilton overtakes Alexander Albon for tenth, with Albon also being attacked by Lando Norris. The Thai driver receives a five-second penalty for forcing Norris off track. On lap seven, Sainz Jr. tries to pass Leclerc, but the Monegasque successfully defends. The battle between the two Ferraris allows Verstappen to extend his lead. The next lap, Hamilton passes Valtteri Bottas. Over the next two laps, Pérez continues his recovery, passing the two Haas cars to reach sixth, behind Esteban Ocon. The Mexican overtakes the Alpine driver on lap twelve. Hamilton starts attacking Mick Schumacher, who successfully defends, also using DRS, thanks to his close proximity to teammate Magnussen. After losing that help, Hamilton’s attacks become more persistent, and on lap twenty-one, he passes Schumacher. Max Verstappen wins the second Sprint of the season, ahead of the two Ferraris and George Russell, after the one in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, earning 16 points in total for the drivers’ standings on Saturday. Max Verstappen explains that today’s strategy was about pulling enough gap between him and the two Ferrari cars and then maintaining the pace:

"It feels good to bring home the Sprint win at here at The Red Bull Ring. The first two laps were important for me to pull a gap, from there it was all about maintaining the pace. The Sprint race of course does not give you the full picture heading into the race tomorrow, but pace wise, it’s close between us and Ferrari. I still expect it to be a tough battle tomorrow, we’ll also have the hard tyres so it will be interesting to see how they perform during the race. It’s going to be very important to make good strategy calls during the race as you never know what can happen, it’s not going to be straightforward but I’m looking forward to it".

Sergio Perez is satisfied with his performance:

"It was a good race and recovery, I had a good start and kept out of trouble, it was tricky with Lewis and a lot of people going side by side into turn three. We got the most we could out of the Sprint and I feel it is a strong result from us. Once I got past everybody, George Russell was a bit far for me to catch up with, I wish I had got back up to P4 but I can fight from fifth. There are lessons we can take from the Sprint race to make sure we are on the podium tomorrow. Patience will be key on Sunday; I want to get a good start and get in the mix straight away in the race. I made up four places in the first lap today so hopefully tomorrow is the same. We are still to unlock some potential from the car so we can look forward to the race".

Charles Leclerc is happy with his outcomes:

"I had a pretty good start. First, we had a battle with Max (Verstappen), which was a bit on the limit. Then Carlos overtook me but I regained my position in turn 4. I just focused on managing my tyres for the first few laps so that we could push more towards the end. It was a good plan, as we picked up pace and I felt good with the tyres. We lost a little time in the battles, but it was fun and I don’t think it changed much in terms of the overall outcome today. Tyre management will be key in tomorrow’s race and I think it could be an exciting one".

Carlos Sainz Jr. is of the same mind:

"It was good racing today, especially the first few laps battling with Max and Charles. At the start there was an opportunity to get Max at turn 3 and I went for it, but I couldn’t make it stick around the outside. After the initial laps, I then had to let the tyres and the battery recover, before getting back into my rhythm and that was pretty much it for today. Tomorrow is the real race and we’ll be starting all over again in the same positions. We are all very close at the front and the fight will be tight. Our rivals seemed to have a bit more pace today but we’ll do our best to challenge them tomorrow".

Laurent Mekies, Ferrari’s Racing Director, finds that today’s race confirms that there is just a little gap between Red Bull and Ferrari:

"It was important to verify this in race conditions and I’d say that this afternoon’s 23 laps confirmed it. The positive news of this Sprint is having seen our cars very close to Max in terms of absolute pace. We had feedback on qualifying and we knew we were very close. It’s good thinking about tomorrow which, in racing conditions, we were running at the same pace. The race will be long, we know we have the pace to fight. There are always positive and negative aspects from an internal battle. The positive side is to have two very competitive drivers who could keep a very high pace. Then you can’t control a start or what happens on the first lap, you would never be able to. There are dynamics specific to each race and they have overtaken each other a couple of times. Charles was trying to save tires in the first phase of the race and so that’s something we will work on better with both drivers for tomorrow’s race. Max initially used his tires to break away from the DRS zone. It’s a compromise between how kind you are with the tire in the first few laps and how much you can attack at the end. He certainly chose a compromise different from ours. We went slower at the beginning and then got closer at the end of the stint".

On tomorrow, he agrees that there will be a tough battle and the outcome is far from decided:

"It will come down to the details, which is why we will now, along with our colleagues back in Maranello, analyse everything in depth to work out how to get the most out of our package. Tyre management, especially at the start and end of the stints could be the key element and we will have to be ready to make the most of any opportunities that come our way. Tomorrow will again be a case of two against two, as Sergio Perez made up several places this afternoon and so the contribution of both our drivers will be essential if we are to get the result we are after. Also tomorrow on tracks like this with high degradation it will be something we will focus on every stint to try to be ahead at the end of the race. We are undoubtedly in a position to fight, but they are very strong. Sergio Perez has recovered and will be part of the fight tomorrow. It will be a two against two, but we are here for that, the car is competitive again on this track".

George Russell thanks with his team for their effort in getting the car ready for today. He recognises that there was a bigger gap than expected with Red Bull and Ferrari in terms of performance:

"First, thank you to everyone in the garage to get the car ready today. It was a huge team effort, so it was good to get points on the board. As for the performance, the gap was more than we were expecting. We were 13 seconds behind after 23 laps, so that's nearly half a second per lap. We need to work overnight to understand why we dropped off the pace. Small things can make a difference - the tyres weren't easy to manage, and different approaches to downforce levels will play a part tomorrow. But we are in no doubt that we've got work to do".

Lewis Hamilton says:

"I'm grateful I managed to survive out there today. The team did such a great job to get the car back together last night and this morning. A bit thank you to them and I'm glad I brought it back mostly in one piece".

Then, he comments what happened with Gasly at Turn 1:

"I didn't have a good start, then Pierre moved across on me at Turn One. I don't understand why drivers do that when there's so much space to the right, and I couldn't do anything about it. Then the same happened in Turn Three with a Williams and Red Bull. I got some sort of damage, but at least could continue".

He explains that, after that, he just tried to carry on and, since the Mercedes is slower on the straight, he had to struggle a bit to pass Schumacher:

"After that, I was just trying to catch up. We are slower on the straights, so I had to wait until I was out of the DRS train to overtake the cars in front. That's why it took a few laps to get ahead of Mick. Hopefully we can race stronger tomorrow - fingers crossed".

Toto Wolff is a bit disappointed with the cars’ performance in terms of speed:

"After such an incredible effort from the mechanics to get the cars built and able to race, that was a bit of a disappointing performance in speed terms. We failed to show our usual improvement in race pace versus single lap performance, like at other events this year. George did a strong job, but the car was lacking the pace to hold on with the train in front. For Lewis, he had contact on lap one which cost him ground. Then it was a good battle with Mick, who was fighting hard for position. Lewis eventually came out on top, so he starts the race one place higher than he qualified. Now we need to learn the lessons and improve our pace in the grand prix tomorrow".

At the Press Conference after the Sprint Race, Max Verstappen doesn’t hide his excitement:

"Yeah, it was great to see, got a lot of smoke at the end, all the orange. But it was alright, it was, I think, a decent race. We had a good pace in the beginning. I think after that, you know, we were very closely matched. So yeah, it was good. It was, you know, like a sprint should go, quite flat out.  In the first few laps they were also fighting a little bit, so I had a bit of a gap. And after that, I think we were quite similar in pace. So I do expect tomorrow that it's going to be a very interesting battle again. Of course, you know, the race is going to be quite a lot longer, so it's going to be quite tricky on tyres. I think the car is good. Just a few things to fine tune but overall we've been really competitive again this weekend".

Charles Leclerc is focused on tyre management, but he thinks he had the right pace:

"I think tomorrow is going to be a long race and tyre management will be quite a bit more important compared to today. So probably tomorrow we cannot afford to do what we did today, no. My start was pretty good. After that it was quite tricky with Max. And then I lost the place to Carlos, but I managed to regain the place in Turn 3. And then I was trying to manage my tyres for the end of the race, but it wasn't enough to catch Max at the end. I don't know for the rules of engagement. Obviously, we are not the one to decide. It will be more Mattia. Yeah, I mean, we've lost a little bit of time, but I felt like we were strong towards the end".

Ferrari’s Team Principal Mattia Binotto is happy to see the two drivers fight:

"As a team, you always have to make the wisest move because the team always comes first. But I am very happy to see my two drivers fight. If we had only one outstanding driver we would give them priority, but that's not the situation right now. Our strategy is to get as many points as possible for the team. They know it. This is not the moment to give team orders, there are 12 points between them”.

After the Sprint Race, it comes the news that Sebastian Vettel will visit the Austrian Grand Prix stewards on the same evening, having been summoned on unusual grounds. Vettel will face the stewards at 6pm local time (5pm UK) in Austria, with the four-time former World Champion summoned for an: alleged breach of Article 12.2.1 f) of the International Sporting Code and Article 20.1 of the FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations - Behaviour at the Drivers’ Meeting. The ISC article in question specifies: any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motorsport and on the values defended by the FIA as a potential rule breach. The article of the F1 sporting regulations, meanwhile, simply outlines when meetings chaired by the race director are held during a sprint weekend - with Vettel’s alleged offence having come in the Friday evening meeting to be attended by “all drivers and team managers, often referred to as the drivers’ briefing. Read the stewards' decision document:

"The driver, Sebastian Vettel, left the drivers' meeting that was held at 7:30 p.m. on Friday 8 July, without permission, and expressing frustration at the meeting. Drivers are not free to leave when they want, this being a breach of the requirement to attend. Drivers at this level are role models for every driver around the world and in the opinion of the stewards Vettel failed to live up to that standard in this case".

Alonso and Vettel are said to have been particularly outspoken in the Friday meeting. Vettel will face the stewards, who are comprised of Tim Mayer, Silvia Bellot, Walter Jobst and former F1 driver Enrique Bernoldi, and will take the €25.000 fine if he breaches Article 20.1 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations and/or Article 12.2.1 f) of the International Sporting Code again later in the season. The explanation continues:

"Subsequently, Vettel had a meeting with the Race Director, who informed the stewards that Vettel apologised without reservation, and that further, they had a very constructive conversation covering the topics in the meeting and more".

So the fine will become effective only if Vettel breaks again these rules concerning the drivers’ behavior.

On Sunday, July 10, 2022, the twenty Formula 1 drivers are ready to face off for supremacy in the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix. Are just nineteenth the drivers lined up on the grid as Valtteri Bottas will start from the pit lane. Sprint race winner Max Verstappen will start from the pole, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, while Fernando Alonso is the last on the grid with a new power unit. At 3:00 p.m. the formation lap starts and everyone, except for Zhou Guanyu, Yuki Tsunoda, Sebastian Vettel and Ferando Alonso, is on medium tyres. When the lights go out, Verstappen takes the command, while Leclerc stays second, Sainz goes wide at Turn 1 but manages to recover to stay ahead of George Russell. Sergio Perez tries a move on the Mercedes driver on the outside of Turn 4, but he finishes in the gravel and into last place from where he pits with damage to mount hard tyres at the start of Lap 2. Mick Schumacher overtakes Lewis Hamilton for the seventh position and puts himself behind his team mate. At the front, Leclerc is following Verstappen with DRS, while Sainz is back with a 2.5-seconds detachment and Russell struggles to keep pace after the contact with Perez. He also receives a five-second time penalty for this. The Mercedes number 63 leads a train of cars up to Lando Norris in P9. Leclerc is closely following Verstappen, still in the lead, and on Lap 10, he makes a move and almost overtakes the Red Bull down the inside of Turn 3. The Monegasque tries again, switching to the outside of Turn 4, but Verstappen retains the first position.

"I cannot hold this long".

Says the reigning World Champion on the radio and on lap 12 Leclerc is right on his tail, braking late into Turn 4 and taking the lead down the inside. Russell takes his five-second penalty in the pits on the same lap, ad emerges last with a new nose and hard tyres, while the fourth position is now of Esteban Ocon. Verstappen tries to take back the lead on lap 13, but locks up into Turn 4 and is soon called to the pits to switch to hards. The stop is not so quick and the reigning champion emerges P8. Even Lando Norris goes to the pits, giving the Dutch driver another place. On lap 15, Hamilton does a move on Schumacher for the fifth position down the inside of Turn 7 and is ready to do the same with Magnussen soon after. The Dane pits but Schumacher stays out, with Verstappen behind, who soon passes him on the run to Turn 3. Verstappen is now behind Hamilton and needs to pass him in order to attack the Ferraris. The seven-time Champion fights off to mantain the position, but is then overtaken on the run to Turn 4. In the lead, Leclerc and Sainz continue their race, but on lap 20 Verstappen closes the gap. Alonso makes it up to the eighth position, but his team mate Ocon, who has already pitted and is on newer tyres, passes him. Ocon then battles with Zhou and passes him inside Turn 4. Unlike his Alpine team mate, Alonso does not manage to pass Zhou and stays behind him for a number of laps. Magnussen closes the gap and sends it down the inside of Turn 1 and trigger a five-car battle for position into Turn 3. In that battle, also Norris has a tyre advantage, because he stopped for hards on lap 14, so moves up to P9 behind Magnussen. On lap 25, Zhou pits, while Alonso loses P10 to Schumacher, who pitted for tyres on lap 16. 

Schumacher also takes the eighth position off Norris. On lap 27, Leclerc is called to pit and emerges third: there are about seven seconds between him and the Red Bull. Sainz is in the lead with a 10-second advantage, but he pits on the following lap to emerge fourth behind Hamilton. Verstappen is now in the lead again. Hamilton pits for hards in a stop that lasts 4.1 seconds, and emerges side-by-side with Ocon. The two battle for P4, and the Alpine driver loses out to the Briton entering Turn 3. Leclerc pushes and takes the gap to Verstappen down to 1.5 seconds on lap 31, and two laps later he takes again the lead at Turn 3. The reigning Champion says on the radio that the car is unpredictable. Meanwhile, Schumacher continues his strong race and passes Magnussen for P6. The Dane loses another place to Norris on Lap 42 and then goes in for a pit stop. Norris has a five-second penalty for not respecting the track limits. On lap 37, Verstappen is closely followed by Sainz and is called to pit from P2 for hards; he emerges in front of Hamilton. The Dutchman is soon told to match Hamilton’s lap times, who is just six seconds behind: the same gap that there is between Leclerc and Sainz. The Monegasque enters again the pits on lap 51, one lap after team mate Sainz, so Verstappen is back into the lead; he is just two seconds over the first Ferrari, and seven to the second in P3.

Leclerc immediately closes the gap on the Dutchman and on lap 53 passes him for the lead on the exit from Turn 4, while Verstappen says to his team:

"What a joke that traction is".

Sainz is right on Verstappen’s tail but on lap 57, the Ferrari driver slows and goes off track. Soon, flames begins to pour out of the engine bay and through the sidepods of the car. Fortunately, Sainz manages to get out of the car on time. This triggers a Virtual Safety Car, and Leclerc and Verstappen pit for mediums. Third is now Hamilton, who stopped for a set of mediums on lap 52. Alonso pits just as the Virtual Safety Car ends on lap 60. As the race is resumed, Leclerc flies away to increase the gap, but soon complains on the radio that his throttle pedal is weird, and the issue is clearer when the driver explains that it is stuck and Verstappen begins to decrease the gap as the leader struggles on the low-speed sections. But Charles Leclerc goes on and win his first race since the Australian Grand Prix by just 1.5 seconds by the checquered flag. Second is Verstappen, on Red Bull’s home race, while Hamilton completes the podium, gaining the third place after the crash in qualifying. Russell started and ends fourth, also because of a slow pit stop and the five-second penalty, while Ocon completes the top five. Schumacher ends sixth, ahead of Norris, who served a five-second time penalty for track limits, and Magnussen, who is eighth. It is also a double points score for McLaren, with Norris seventh and Ricciardo ninth. Alonso, ends 10th for Alpine despite starting last, with an unsafe release investigation to be undertaken by the Stewards. Bottas finishes 11th from the pit lane, after closing in on Alonso at the end; Zhou had a difficult day, starting on hards unlike the majority, and finishing 14th. Pierre Gasly and his team mate Yuki Tsunoda are 16th and 17th respectively. Sebastian Vettel complained that he had damage on his car early on, and on lap 40 he spun while trying to pass Gasly around the outside of Turn 4. The German ended up 17th and last. Nicholas Latifi didn’t end the race, his Williamswas pulled into the pits on lap 47. Charles Leclerc is back on the top step of the podium in Austria after seven races:

"Every win is special, but this one feels just amazing. The last 15 laps were on the limit with the issue we had, but we brought it home. Today, we had a really strong pace and some great battles. I worked hard last night to find where I could still improve and it made the difference today. I’m very happy".

It could even have been a double for the Italian team, but Carlos Sainz's engine had issues just 13 laps to the end of the race, so was forced to retire:

"It’s difficult to find the right words today, as it was clear that a one-two was pretty straightforward. I had strong pace today, especially on the hard tyre. Degradation was very high but we managed it well. On the last stint the car felt really good on track until we obviously had the issue and we had to retire. Today’s result is a hard one to take as it cost the team and myself an important number of points for both championships. On the positive side, I’m feeling better and better in the car, more comfortable every race, and this keeps me motivated. We are fast, and this is what’s matters the most. Congrats to Charles for the win! We’ll keep pushing".

Mattia Binotto, Ferrari’s Team Principal and Managing Director, is pleased with today’s victory, because the car demonstrated to be competitive at every track:

"There are a lot of positives we can take home from today’s race. We have secured our second consecutive Grand Prix win, which confirms that we are doing a good job with a car that is proving to be competitive at every track. Our management of all aspects of this race went well, from our detailed preparation, even after yesterday’s Sprint and I think we made all the right decisions in terms of strategy, running an attacking race right from the start. That meant we were able to put Verstappen under pressure, forcing him into a defensive race".

So he adds:

"The mechanics carried out five very quick pit stops and the drivers executed everything we asked of them prior to the race and managed the tyres very well. Charles drove like a lion, overtaking Max on track no fewer than three times and Carlos looked like doing the same which would have resulted in a well-deserved one-two finish. Of course we are very disappointed for him, but I’m sure he will fight back in the upcoming races".

Then, the Ferrari’s number one talks about the reliability problems they still have:

"We are still suffering with reliability problems, we know what they are and we must make every effort to solve them as soon as possible. I am sure we can do it, but after a performance like today's, I want to congratulate the whole team, here at the track and back in Maranello, where all the departments did such a great job over the winter".

Max Verstappen, after getting the pole on Saturday, did not manage to keep up with the Ferrari's pace and finished second behind Charles Leclerc:

"We were just a bit too slow today, we were doing the best we could with the strategy but the Ferraris were extremely fast. Of course, we need to understand why we had so much degradation with the tyres, I’m not sure exactly what happened, no matter which compound we used none of them seemed to work well. Although we didn’t win today, we still walked away with a lot of points. In difficult moments you need to score points and we did that today. It was incredible to receive the support I did from the fans this weekend, but I’ve been hearing a few shocking things. It’s clearly wrong and what’s been happening is not right at all - I shouldn’t need to say this on a weekend that should be a celebration of Formula One at our home race".

Team mate Sergio Perez clashed with George Russell on lap 1; he spun off and damaged the car, so his race ended early:

"It was a big shame that we had our race ended so early. I had the whole race ahead of me and I thought I had good opportunities coming my way, so it was very painful. We had a lot of damage to the car and we were going nowhere so we had to retire. I gave all the room I could to George on lap one, there was enough room for both cars not to crash and unfortunately, we ended up colliding, I don’t know what else I could have done. Today has hurt us in both Championships and hopefully we can recover the ground. It has been the same way all season, sometimes we are quicker and sometimes Ferrari are. It is still very close but today they were clearly the quicker car. We need to look forward now, the season is long and hopefully we can come back stronger in the coming weekends".

Team Principal Christian Horner is disappointed for today’s results, but hopes things will get better during the next race weekend in France:

"We scored some really important points today but it just wasn’t meant to be for us. Congratulations to Ferrari, although they were unlucky with Carlos, they had the faster car for the majority of the race which gave them more strategic options but Max’s tyre deg was higher from halfway through the first stint and it was hard to combat that. Over the two races this weekend, we’ve only given away five points to Ferrari but obviously we’re really disappointed for Checo today. There was so much damage to his car from George that there was no chance for him to score any points and we had to retire him and save the mileage. We’ll do everything we can to bounce back in France, we’re still ahead but we know how quickly things can change and we need to keep pushing".

And he concludes:

"We are shocked to hear that there have been some incidents of abusive behaviour in the grandstands and the fan parks. We stand united with every member of the F1 community in condemning this. We value inclusion and want a safe space for fans to enjoy our sport".

As for Mercedes, after both drivers crashed in qualifying on Friday, this was not a bad Sunday. Lewis Hamilton is back on the podium in third position:

"First, I want to say a big thank you to the women and men in the garage who worked so hard to rebuild the car. I needed a brand-new car on Saturday morning, unfortunately. That's something I don't do often, but I'm just thankful for how hard everybody worked. It was tough in the Sprint yesterday, but today felt better. We had decent pace at different points of the race, even if I was racing a little bit in no-man's land. It's been a bit of a rough weekend for the team - but I'm grateful we got third and fourth today. That's great points, and we have improved the car. Now we need to keep chipping away to get back to the front".

George Russell finshed right behind his team mate in P4, after being hit with a time penalty for his early clash with Sergio Perez, and the car needed a front wing change:

"I started P4 and finished P4 - and probably would have taken that before the race. But I'm a little disappointed at how everything unfolded. On lap one, Checo dived down the outside at Turn Four, then took a tight line. I had Sainz ahead and had to get up on the apex kerb. I thought the penalty was harsh - for me it was a racing incident. But after that, we optimised the race well from lap two. Looking at the positives: we had a 20 second pit stop at the start - and finished around 15 seconds behind the podium; I came back through the field from P19 to P4; and we maximised as a team. Now we need to get our heads down and keep pushing".

Toto Wolff says they look more competitive now and the team need to impove its work to close the gap to the team ahead:

"We always seem to be in two minds at the end of the races right now. We must accept P3 and P4 today. And when you think we had two cars in pieces on Friday afternoon, that's a strong result. But we are missing the two or three tenths to be able to race at the front. We have glimpses of light at the end of the tunnel with the car - then it disappears again, and we need to get on top of that. Today, over a race stint, we looked more competitive than yesterday. But we had two drivers needing to put in strong recovery drives, after incidents in the Sprint and in the opening laps. It was good to see Charles on the top step. He's had a lot of bad luck, and it looks like the fight is on at the front. Now we need to work on the car to close the gap to the teams ahead, then see how we can get in the mix".

The great performance of the F1-75 has now raised the expectations of the fans and of the team too, now ambitious for a World Championship victory that no longer appears as prohibitive as it might have seemed ten days ago. After the race, Mattia Binotto, Ferrari’s Team Principal, comments on the double success of Ferrari in Silverstone and Zeltweg:

"This victory is important like the previous one. In Silverstone we had a winning Ferrari and now drivers have changed. This victory is very important for Charles, there is no doubt, because during the last races he had the opportunity to win without success, for one reason or another. For him it was important to achieve this result. I am very happy for him, as I am sad for Carlos. He was running a good race and it seems like we could have had a double, like in England, that we didn’t come home to this opportunity for reasons of reliability. How much do I worry about reliability? These are problems that worry us for the coming races, not in the long term".

So he concludes:

"I am convinced that we can solve it as a team. As a team, I am confident that we will have the ability to solve these problems. I know the engineers at Maranello. however, Having a high-performance machine that we know we’re working hard to adjust for reliability gives me hope about the future".

The reliability was the reason why Carlos Sainz Jr.’ race ended, event that triggered a Virtual Safety Car. The Italian team decided to call Leclerc to pit, contrary to the decision taken in Silverstone: 

"The situation was completely different. We knew that Max would have stopped for the tyres, so we knew that che we would have stayed ahead anyway. There was no reason not to stop".

At the restart, the Monegasque started to complain on the radio that his throttle pedal was not working properly: 

"I was disappointed as well for what happened to Carlos, but so nervous that I stopped watching the race in the last three laps".

The Team Principal also clarifies the misunderstanding between the two drivers that led to the internal struggle which we saw during the Sprint Race: 

"In that stage of the race Charles was saving tyres, giving Max the opportunity to increase the gap, and then try to attack him in the last laps of the Sprint. Instead Carlos thought that it was better to push from the start to not lose contact with Max, so was pushing while Charles was managing. It was a misunderstanding between them and us about what to do. For this Charles found hismelf a little surprised under Carlos’ attack. But there was no intention, no fight between them. It is just a matter of clarify things to manage them better".

Among the positive things happened in Austria, it is clear now that there is a smaller performance gap between the F1-75 and the RB18: 

"We have a disadvantage from Red Bull in terms of top speed, mainly due to the gain at DRS open, to its effectiveness. We worked hard on it and introduced the new rear wing in Canada which narrowed this speed gap. I think they still have a slight lead, but very small and almost negligible. In the power limited sections we are very close, therefore the fight is mainly played in the grip limited sections, in the curves, where we can make a difference. But I think that today we were fast not only for the car, but also thanks to the drivers who did an extraordinary job of set-up and balancing throughout the weekend, as well as in tire management and driving. The developments are studied to optimize the package in all its areas".

Talking about the realiability, Binotto promises a long time to reach a complete resolution: 

"Solutions of this type take time, you have to design new components, produce them, homologate them for reliability. A few weeks are not enough. In the short term, we will try to manage this in terms of mileage with the engines already introduced in the pool if possible. After this weekend we will try to better understand the matter, because now I can only speculate".

Binotto continues:

"The wing is an optimization, as is the search for vertical load, the set-up, the balance, the tire management... The final result is the ability to put everything together. We saw that Haas had a great weekend without ever having brought about any developments, because they were able to make the most of their car on a specific track. So it’s true that we made up for some of the speed lag we had from Red Bull at the start of the season, it was important for us, but the overall performance should be seen as the sum of everything. The car is continuing to grow, but not only that, also the team, the drivers, while in Austria the pit stops also went well. Then there are the developments we are bringing, including the latest in England. For me the best news is that when we bring something, it works. We brought a new bodywork which gave its advantages, as well as a new rear wing which had to take away the speed disadvantage we had compared to Red Bull. We saw it in the race, we no longer had this disadvantage. The good news is that the developments we bring are working and it is a team that continues to be focused and aggressive".

The Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal rules out any problems deriving from the quality of the external supply and says there is no correlation with what happened in Spain. The Team Principal also denies the early debut of the new Haas hybrid.  However, the precarious reliability do not undermine the determination to conquer the world title:

"It is obvious that we still believe in both World Championships, drivers and manufacturers. This car has shown in all the races that it is competitive and looking at all the stages that remain to be raced, we have to believe it. We are a fierce team from every point of view: technician, drivers, men at pit stops. There were Monaco and Spain, where Charles had a strong advantage. Red Bull took some upgrades in England, we also took something and I think that the overall performance balance of the two cars is always the same: a few tenths to the advantage of one or the other depending on the track".

Also the Grand Prix winner Charles Leclerc comments on his third victory of 2022: 

"Barcelona and Monaco were two of the races in which we were so strong. But I think in Austria it was the first time we were faster. It was not a surprise, because we worked hard. Maybe I am surprised about the change we made between Saturday and Sunday, because we were competitive also in the Sprint, but during the race we had more pace compared to them. After the Sprint I was confident. The pace was fast in the last five races and it is wonderful now to show it also on Sunday and have a great weekend. On Saturday we had the pace, but I did not know how much was Max pushing at the end. But I had the feeling that we were stronger at the end of the Sprint and because of this I was so confident".

Leclerc also spent words of appreciation for the fights on track with Max Verstappen:

"I love to battle with Max. I’ve known him for many years and we always ran to the limit. I think that it can be said that this year I have been less aggressive compared to our normal fights, but we’ve grown up during the years so we know each other’s weaknesses. We know each other well and this makes everything so exciting".

At the Ferrari press conference is also present Carlos Sainz Jr., who recounts the moments he lived inside the F1-75 engulfed in flames: 

"It wasn’t an ideal situation. I knew that the car was about to burn, but at the same time I was pressing brake and when I tried to exit I saw that the car tended to slip back out of control. I was calling the stewards, so that they could put something under the wheels to stop the car, but I think that everything went on so slowly. At a certain point there was so much fire that I needed to jump out and there arrived the first marshal. It s something we will surely have to think about as we could have done before, because it was not an easy situation".

Ferraris are increasing their performance, while the Red Bulls are still in the lead of both Championships. Next step of the season is the Circuit Paul Ricard, site of the 2022 French Grand Prix, which will take place on July 22-24.