Austria GP: Charles wins, Carlos DNF
Charles LeClerc finally found the pace in Austria and had a clean race. Max just could not match up to the Ferrari.
Charles too fast in Austria
It is not something that too many people had anticipated. Home race for Red Bull and Max Verstappen looked at the top of his game. In the Sprint Race Charles and Carlos were just not able to catch up with Max Verstappen. But things turned around on Race Day. Starting from the front Max Verstappen got a clean start. He we was unable to hold on to it. Charles had stronger pace and with 3 DRS zones he was easily able to overtake the Dutchman. Red Bull went for a different strategy and pitted Max early. But nothing worked. Charles overtook Max thrice in the race. This was his first victory since Melbourne and was very happy to be on the top step after having bad luck in the last 5 races. Charles moved to P2 in the driver’s standing but the gap to Max is still quite big.
DNFs for Carlos and Checo
Checo starting from P5 looked to move up quickly as soon as the race started. However as he tried to move up against George Russell, he got hit by the front left tyre of George, throwing him into the gravel and then back of the grid. However his car had suffered damage and lost performance, so they retired the car.
Carlos was looking in very good touch. He finally found the pace in the car and could catch up with Charles in Austria, but not yet surpass him. Still he would be happy with the progress and confident after the race win in Silverstone. But then tragedy strikes. Ferrari were looking good for a 1-2 finish before a dramatic engine failure stopped Carlos Sainz in his tracks. His car literally went on fire and had to stop immediately. This was the moment for Ferrari to make big gains against Red Bull, especially with Checo retiring early in the race. However reliability issues are still plaguing them and they need to get on top of it.
Mercedes making the most of the DNFs
This has been their story so far in 2022. They have been a distant third to Red Bull and Ferrari but move up the ladder whenever the top 2 teams fumble.
Lewis Hamilton after crashing in Quali and starting P8 went long on his first stint, had very good pace and kept moving up the grid to finally finish P3. This is his third consecutive P3 finish and would be very happy with his performance. George Russell meanwhile got a 5 second penalty for the contact with Checo and moved to the back of the grid. But he fought like a champion, eventually finishing an impressive P4.
More points for Mick in Austria
The tide seems to have finally turned with Mick finishing his career best P6 and getting back to back points. Yesterday he complained about having better pace than team-mate Kevin Magnussen ( who also finished an impressive P8) and today he actually proved it. HAAS team is really looking up for now.
Both the Alpines finished in points too with Ocon managing a very impressive P5 and Alonso finishing P10 after having started from the back of the grid. They must be looking forward to their home race in two weeks times. McLaren put up a decent performance and their both drivers finished in points – Lando at P7 and Daniel P9.
Austria GP Race Classification : Charles the winner, Max P2
