Austria: The Highs and Lows from the Editorial Team

The top 3

Max Verstappen: The Renaissance!

Finally! Disadvantaged by some disappointing races this season (4 entries in our flops), the Red Bull driver tipped the balance to the positive side. After an encouraging second place at Le Castellet, the Dutchman hit the jackpot this time, in front of many supporters won over to his cause. Max Verstappen makes a mark by becoming the first Red Bull driver to triumph at the Red Bull Ring.

Helped by the double retirement of the Mercedes cars, Max Verstappen was nevertheless the master of tire management, skillfully handling the blistering of his rear tires. He also managed to keep his cool at the start, taking advantage of the Bottas-Räikkönen duel.

For his first victory of the season (the fourth of his career), Max Verstappen moves up in the overall standings to fifth position, just three points behind Daniel Ricciardo, eight behind Räikkönen, but 53 points from Sebastian Vettel.

Unbelievable! Thank you so much @redbullracing for the amazing car and strategy, and the Orange army for the incredible support 🙌🏼 This win will stay with me for the rest of my life #unleashthelion #keeppushing #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/Y2Cub0Rfu3

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) 1 juillet 2018

Romain Grosjean: The light at the end of the tunnel!

Like Verstappen, the Frenchman was subjected to a barrage of criticism, which is an understatement! Austria will remain the starting point of the Haas driver’s season, who scored his first points in 2018. Nothing to criticize this time, with impeccable behavior from the Frenchman: in the top 10 of all three free practice sessions, Romain Grosjean dominated Kévin Magnussen on both Saturday and Sunday (the Dane also securing another fine finishing position, fifth). The Tricolor even outpaced Ricciardo’s Red Bull at the end of Q3. Always well-placed in the race, Grosjean achieved the team’s best result in its history. The man himself was right about his mental toughness! To be confirmed at the next Grand Prix in Silverstone.

#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 | STAT 📊

By finishing 4th this weekend, Romain Grosjean scored his first points since the Japanese GP 2017 (9 months ago).

He also achieved his best result since his podium in Spa in 2015 and Haas’s best ever result in F1.

👏 Romain#F1 pic.twitter.com/9ljzFGCE68

— Secteur F1 🚔 (@Secteur_F1) 2 juillet 2018

Fernando Alonso: a new feat!

A bit off at Paul-Ricard, one of the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours winners regained all his grit in Austria. Grouchy at the start of the race, the McLaren driver still did the job with an eighth place… having started from the pit lane after a rare mistake in Qualifying. Still 13th on lap 53, the Spaniard saved enough in his tires to attack Leclerc and Gasly on the track, while benefiting from the retirements of Bottas, Ricciardo, and Hamilton. Sixth points finish in 2018 for Fernando Alonso, who has experienced two retirements. The double world champion is a magician with equipment not quite matched to his talent.

The top 3 flops

Mercedes: Strange First.

A flop that addresses not the drivers but the engineers and the pit wall of the team. For the first time since its return to Formula 1 in 2010, the German team lost both of its cars in a race due to mechanical problems, a hydraulic leak for Bottas and a mechanical issue for Hamilton. A surprising reliability weakness during the second Grand Prix of the Mercedes engine B-Spec. Mere coincidence or real technical failure?

In any case, Lewis Hamilton’s race was already compromised due to a strategic error during the deployment of the Virtual Safety Car on lap 13, caused… by Bottas’s retirement. In the end, the 33-0 result against Ferrari is painful: having led the constructors’ standings since Azerbaijan, Mercedes has fallen behind the Italian team.

“The most painful day for six years”
“It doesn’t get more cruel for us” @MercedesAMGF1 reaction to a day to forget at the #AustrianGP ⬇️ #F1 https://t.co/5AMNhHObSx — Formula 1 (@F1) July 1, 2018

Vandoorne: cruel comparison

What a difficult mirror for the Belgian. Once again outperformed in qualifying by Alonso, the Belgian shot himself in the foot with a collision in the second corner with Gasly. To top it all off, McLaren’s ultra-slow pit stop pushed him back to last position from the very first lap. With 8 points, Stoffel Vandoorne’s meager total pales in comparison to his illustrious teammate, credited with 36 points. Will his seat be threatened during the “Silly Season”?

A race to forget after the Turn 3 incident. Pace was good and points should have been on the cards today. Good thing is we get to do it all again in a couple of days for the teams home race! #SV2 #McLaren #Renault #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/68qrqL0F9V

— Stoffel Vandoorne (@svandoorne) 1 juillet 2018

Sirotkin: the ordeal continues

Difficult to accept, but the Russian is enduring a challenging season with a car that continues to act up, weekend after weekend. As usual, Sergey Sirotkin stayed in Q1 and even lost his duel against Stroll. A race to forget. He is now the last driver with zero points….

Hear from Paddy, Lance, and Sergey following the Austrian Grand Prix.
Link: https://t.co/xERruOmZ3u

#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Cy61OB6rxH — WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) 1 juillet 2018