2022 Austrian Grand Prix Takeaways
Ferrari and Red Bull had an eventful weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix with a splendid performance from Charles Leclerc. Reigning champion and points leader Max Verstappen scored maximum points in Saturday’s sprint race but settled for a P2 finish on Sunday.
Nitrobetting goes over the top 2022 Austrian GP narratives before the calendar moves on to the Circuit Paul Ricard and the French Grand Prix less than two weeks from now.
Key Takeaways from the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix
A cheeky switcheroo at Turn 3 ????
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 11, 2022
The race-winning move for @Charles_Leclerc ????#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/LBKYA9yWSe
Ferrari’s on fire
The Scuderia experienced both extremes as they endured a testing day at the Austrian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc pressured Max Verstappen for the victory. It was his first victory since the Australian GP in April. And after a P2 finish at the Miami Grand Prix in May, Leclerc’s five races featured two DNFs, two fourth-place finishes, and a P5. This time, he reeled himself out of the rut and claimed his third victory. The Monegasque driver started the race in P2 but had enough pace to catch the defending champion in the corners. The significant advantage of the Red Bull on the straights failed to play a huge role in the Red Bull Ring. Leclerc closes Verstappen’s lead to 38 points in the Driver Standings and sparks the title fight back on.
Meanwhile, bad luck hit Carlos Sainz Jr. again following his first-ever Grand Prix victory at Silverstone last week. The 27-year-old looked set to pass Max Verstappen during the race before smoke escaped his Ferrari’s exhaust. A few moments later, the car started to roll backward while Sainz was inside and before the marshals approached him. He jumped out of the car after it caught fire.
Mick Schumacher: Driver of the day
Receiving his first Driver of the Day award was Haas’ Mick Schumacher. The youngster scored his first Formula 1 point in Silverstone last week and finished P6 in the Austrian Grand Prix. Last week was a solid confidence booster for the German as he picked up eight more points on Sunday.
Schumacher followed up his maiden points by securing P7 in the Austrian GP qualifiers. Despite a frustrating sprint race that appeared to see Mick held back by Haas teammate Magnussen, he did well to move up to sixth place from P9.
This race will be added to the German’s most memorable race memories as he waited for his opportunity and capitalized on the Red Bull of Perez making contact and spinning off the track. We saw another thrilling battle between him and seven-time Champion Lewis Hamilton as they exchanged positions. After all the drivers finished their first pit stop, Schumacher dropped to 13th place with plenty of work ahead of him. He quickly tracked McLaren’s Ricciardo and locked in on Lando Norris, making light work of both orange cars.
By the halfway mark, Mick managed to get past Magnussen with a clean overtake. The remainder of the race saw Schumacher finish his second pitstop and hold onto P6 until the checkered flag, making it a successful back-to-back race in the points for Schumacher and Haas.
Hamilton keeps up with the pack
Lewis Hamilton steps onto the podium for a third consecutive Grand Prix in spite of a challenging weekend. The Silver Arrows experienced a horrendous qualifying on Friday as both cars crashed before the sprint race. Sunday also saw the mechanics finishing up a brake issue with Hamilton’s car a few minutes away from the start.
The 37-year-old worked with a steady pace to P3. While he finished over 40 seconds behind the race winner, the consistency returns for Hamilton but the wins might have to wait a little longer.
Russell started in P3 but suffered a five-second penalty for making contact with Perez on the opening lap. The Red Bull driver spun off the track while the Englishman dropped to the back of the field. Nevertheless, there was enough time for Russell to recover and slip through the field, even sneaking a switchback on Esteban Ocon at Turn 3. He eventually finished the race in P4, behind teammate Lewis Hamilton.
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