The highlights of the Austrian Grand Prix

The Austrian Grand Prix has experienced three periods of presence on the calendar, the latest of which is ongoing and started with the hybrid era in Formula 1: 2014. Here are three editions that have marked these races taking place in Spielberg.

2002: the edition of shame

This edition is remembered for its highly controversial outcome. Ferrari was led by Jean Todt, and after the successful campaigns of 2000 and 2001 that saw the Italian team return to the top, the French manager was willing to do whatever it took to continue this momentum.

In 2002, Ferrari dominates the start of the championship and so does Michael Schumacher. The Austrian Grand Prix is the sixth event of the year, and the German champion already has four victories out of five possible, as well as a third place.

It is Schumacher’s teammate who is starting in pole position. Rubens Barrichello is a talented driver, but at Ferrari there is a number 1 driver and a number 2 driver. The Brazilian driver will bear the consequences of this policy at the very end of the race.

Started from pole position, Barrichello completed 69 out of the 71 race laps at the top of the standings. He had to give up the lead during a pit stop, and then towards the end of the Grand Prix on the team’s orders from the pit wall.

Indeed, just a few laps from the end, and despite a superb race perfectly controlled, the Ferrari team ordered him to let his teammate, who was in second position behind him, pass. This order was not easy to accept. The race leader hesitated to comply for a few laps, but finally obeyed in the last meters and handed the victory to Michael Schumacher.

On the podium, the Red Baron appears embarrassed and lets Barrichello step onto the highest step, amidst fierce boos from the crowd.

Team orders not being prohibited at that time, Ferrari was not punished for this strategy, but for breaking the podium rules. The Italian team had to pay a fine of one million dollars!

An unprecedented pole position in 2014

For its third return to the calendar in 2014 and after 11 years of absence, the Austrian Grand Prix is renamed the Red Bull Ring. It also welcomes the hybrid era cars for the first time.

Since the beginning of the season, it is the Mercedes team that has been overwhelmingly dominant over the other nine teams. But in Austria, one team will reverse the trend during the qualifying session.

Indeed, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas will propel their Mercedes-powered Williams to the top of the timesheet. The Brazilian driver secures the pole position for the first time since 2008, and his Finnish teammate is joining him on the front row.

In the race, the silver arrows will quickly shatter the hopes of the Grove’s single-seater pilots. But they cross the finish line in third and fourth place.

Bottas signing here his first podium, only 8 seconds behind the winner, Nico Rosberg.

This is a quadruple win for the Mercedes engines, who have regained their eight engines in the top eleven positions.

2018: a return to the 90s?

This edition was remarkable in more ways than one. Indeed, that year, the battle was raging between Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes and Sebastian Vettel in Ferrari. Despite a better time in FP3 and Q2 for Vettel, the Mercedes locked out the front row, with Bottas ahead of Hamilton.

The race is lively as often in Austria. Indeed, the characteristics of the track allow for numerous and real overtaking attempts. Thus, from the first corners, Hamilton overtakes his teammate and Verstappen, starting fifth, positions himself in front of Räikkönen, who started fourth.

It is Bottas’s abandonment due to hydraulic failure that triggers the first upset. Indeed, the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers take advantage of the virtual safety car intervention to make their only tire change, while Hamilton stays on track.

This strategic mistake in the German team allows Red Bull to dominate the race ahead of Ferrari.

Max Verstappen wins ahead of Räikkönen and Vettel following the retirements of second-placed Daniel Ricciardo and fifth-placed Hamilton. This is his first victory this season and the first victory for a Red Bull on this track, which belongs to the same brand.

This is also the first time since 2010 that the silver arrows have suffered a double retirement in the race. This allows Sebastian Vettel to regain the lead in the championship.

It was also a historic race for Alonso, who was participating in his 300th race, as well as for Force India, which was celebrating its 200th start, and for the American team Haas, with 50 starts.

To finish, the ranking of this Grand Prix reminded us of the rankings we were used to seeing in the 90s. Indeed, only the top three drivers finished in the same lap. And these three, were separated by just three seconds. It was also a race marked by numerous reliability issues, with six retirements due to various mechanical problems. Which is rather rare in our era.