Our regular Formula One correspondent, Nick van der Meulen, outlines the eleventh round of the current season in his report F1 Review Austria 2022.

The Austrian Grand Prix is currently held at Red Bull Ring, Spielberg. It is a venue that is rich in motorsport history and was initially known as Zeltweg or Osterreichring. It used to be an undulating circuit running through a forest, but the circuit was changed and shortened after the 1987 event. Stefan Johansson destroyed his McLaren-TAG after hitting a deer crossing the circuit, resulting in this drastic action.  

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The new circuit (A1-Ring) hosted the F1 circus from 1997 to 2003, before it was decided to extend the track. Construction work halted when money ran out and the circuit was unusable (parts of it had been demolished). Eventually, Red Bull magnate Dietrich Mateschitz purchased the circuit and resurrected it.

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Sprint Race

The Austrian Grand Prix was the second event of the 2022 calendar to run a sprint race as well as the feature race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as spectacular as fans would have hoped, although the 50 000 Dutch fans who trekked to Spielberg were not complaining. Their hero Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) waltzed to victory on his team’s home soil. He finished ahead of the squabbling Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

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Prancing to Victory

It was Leclerc, though, who surged to victory in the feature race. He made his first lunge for the lead on lap 10, but Verstappen kept him at bay. The Monegasque was not to be denied, though, and made a brilliant pass on lap 12. The Dutchman pitted for the first time on lap 14. The Monegasque stayed out until Lap 27, pitted and retook the lead on lap 33. Verstappen complained from loss of grip and began losing 2 seconds per lap to his Ferrari rivals. Red Bull pitted their star driver again on lap 37.

Fiery exit

The Ferrari drivers were pitted again, Leclerc on lap 50, with the Monegasque again taking the lead two laps later. It was looking to be a Ferrari 1-2, before Sainz’s engine let go spectacularly on lap 56. The marshals were a little slow to get to the car and the Spaniard was almost engulfed in flames while trying to keep his car from rolling back onto the circuit. A virtual safety car was declared and Ferrari covered Red Bull’s strategy. The team called in Leclerc, switching him to medium rubber for the final sprint as Verstappen pitted at the same time. Despite having throttle issues in the closing stages, Leclerc nursed his mount home to take a popular victory.

“I definitely needed that one!” said Leclerc. “I mean, the last five races have been incredibly difficult for myself but also for the team obviously, and to finally show that we’ve got the pace in the car and that we can do it is incredible, so we need to push until the end [of the year]. It was a really good race. The pace was there, at the beginning and we had some good fights with Max.”

Steady Performance

Mercedes had a good day in the office, with Lewis Hamilton finishing a fine third ahead of teammate George Russell, after the latter had to serve a penalty at his first pit stop. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) drove a solid race to finish an excellent fifth.

Both Haas-Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes had a strong race, with the teams scoring points with both their drivers. Mick Schumacher (Haas) had his best day yet, finishing sixth and earning the Driver of the Day accolade. Teammate Magnussen shadowed Lando Norris (McLaren) across the finish line in eighth position. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) managed to claim two points by finishing ninth.

Unlucky Alonso

Fernando Alonso (Alpine) failed to make the start of the sprint race after a technical issue just before the race start. The team switched power units for the feature race and he started from the back of the grid. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo-Ferrari) started the feature race from pitlane after the team replaced rear wing and suspension components. The two drivers vied for the final point on offer in the  feature race. The Spaniard passed the Finn on the final lap to claim the position.

Inconsistencies

There have been complaints with regard to steward decisions/penalties lately. Alexander Albon (Williams-Mercedes) felt hard done by when slapped with a five-second penalty after running Lando Norris (McLaren-Mercedes) off the road. He claimed to have downforce issues (he tapped Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin into the kitty litter too). The stewards continued to punish drivers on race day.

George Russell and Sergio Perez clashed on lap 1, pitching Perez into the kitty litter. The Mexican tried to pass around the outside and swoop onto the racing line. The Englishman had nowhere to go and the two touched. Russell was found to be at fault and penalised 5 seconds. On lap 41, Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin-Mercedes) was punted into the dirt when trying to pass Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri). The stewards slapped Gasly with a five-second penalty. These events will likely add fuel to this ongoing discussion.

Strolling Down Memory Lane

There were some displays of veteran drivers and racing cars at the event over the weekend. Among those, Zak Brown drove Mario Andretti’s Lotus 79 that powered the American to the 1978 world championship. Riccardo Patrese was also reunited with the Brabham BT53 that he drove in 1983.

Verstappen retains his world championship lead, with Leclerc reclaiming second place, 38 points behind the Dutchman and 19 clear of Perez. Sainz lies 18 points behind the Mexican, but is only 5 points ahead of Russell after his engine blow-up in Austria.

Red Bull Racing leads the constructors standings, 56 points ahead of Ferrari. The Italian marque, in turn, is 66 points ahead of Mercedes. McLaren and Alpine are tied for fourth position, but 156 points away from Mercedes.

The twelfth round of the F1 world championship takes place on 22 to 24 July 2022 at Paul Ricard, France. It is a flowing circuit with much run-off areas. It is also a short circuit, like Red Bull Ring, but it is far more difficult to overtake. Qualifying for the event will be important…