The eleventh stage of the 2024 Formula 1 season, according to the author’s traditionally subjective assessments.
George Russell – 9
Russell was of course lucky: without the crash between Verstappen and Norris, he would not have taken any win. However, it was not luck that it was George who was behind the two leaders at the time of the incident: the German team improved and it was Russell who got the most out of his car this weekend.
Carlos Sainz – 8.5
Carlos wasn’t always able to get the most out of the car, but in the end the Spaniard gave the team 19 points. The Spaniard must also be credited with a good start in the sprint, allowing Russell to eventually regain his position. A solid performance that will once again boost Sainz’s ratings in the driver market.
George Russell and Carlos Sainz after finishing the Austrian Grand Prix
Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images
Nico Hulkenberg – 8.5
Not everything went well for Hulkenberg this weekend either: in the penalty shootout he was only 17th and in the sprint he received a penalty. However, Niko improved during the decisive sessions and achieved his maximum. As the driver himself admitted, Q3 was not ideal, but correct tire work and a careful fight with Pérez gave Haas the best result of the season.
Lando Norris – 8
The Briton missed out on victory in part: even if he had overtaken Verstappen, a 5-second penalty would probably have followed him. On the other hand, the gap to Russell allowed him to gain two more and remain second, which in itself is worth eight points. We won’t blame Lando for losing his position in the sprint either: it was simply unfortunate that Piastri was so close.
Austrian Grand Prix Results:
Daniel Ricciardo – 8
A small mistake on the last attempt of the second segment did not stop Ricciardo from fighting for points and ahead of the Alpine drivers. An early first pit stop did not seem like the best idea at first, but the Australian drove half the race on a set of hard tyres and scored points for the second time in the last three Grands Prix.
Kevin Magnussen – 7.5
One of the best weekends of the season for Magnussen, the Dane finally had everything more or less in order. But unfortunately, a mistake in the last attempt of Q2 did not allow him to qualify for the final, and in the race it was Kevin who was first in Sergio Perez’s path. Magnussen was good in the sprint and stopped just a step away from the points – it is a shame that this will be quickly forgotten.
Magnussen leads the pack of drivers in the sprint
Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images
Pierre Gasly – 7.5
Throughout the weekend, up to Sunday’s Grand Prix, Gasly was inferior to his teammate. And even if it wasn’t Pierre’s fault that he lost the penalty shootout (he had to hurry up to put in a fast lap, the battery was low), then there is no one else to blame for the mistake in qualifying on Saturday. However, the victory in the head-to-head battle with Ocona was beautiful: it was what brought him a place in the top 10.
Oscar Piastri – 7
Piastri can be credited with overtaking Sainz in the final laps, but the Australian only finished behind Ferrari because he was unable to complete his final run in Q3. Furthermore, in the sprint, ahead of Norris, Oscar was behind Verstappen and could not put the slightest pressure on him.
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Lewis Hamilton – 7
In Spielberg, the former champion again did not reach the limit of the car’s capabilities and was inferior to Russell in all sessions. Additionally, Lewis received a fine for not being able to keep the car at the pit lane entrance. I wish the problem was motivation, because other explanations are much worse.
Max Verstappen – 7
The Dutchman missed the victory mainly because of the mechanics: they were the ones who lost five seconds, which had to compensate for the use of the rolling kit. However, a mistake in the fight with Norris (Max should have left just one centimeter more) deprived Red Bull of at least eight points in the Constructors’ Championship.
Verstappen’s problems began at the pit stop
Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Esteban Ocón – 7
At the beginning of the weekend, Ocon was faster and luckier than Gasly, but in the race Esteban lost pace (which can be partly explained by the loss of one of the aerodynamic elements) and lost to his teammate in a duel. face to face. . He fought hard against Pierre Ocon, but generally within the rules, but this battle is unlikely to add bonuses to Esteban in the “team player” category.
Valtteri Bottas – 7
Valtteri was again much faster than Zhou, but in the context of Kick-Sauber’s pace, this does not allow him to qualify for the points. Bottas finished the shutout, the sprint and qualifying in the same position: 18th, and in the race, due to Alonso’s penalty and Norris’ retirement, he was 16th. This is not Bottas’ fault.
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Spear ride – 6.5
The Aston Martin had a very poor showing in Spielberg, but Lance was unable to get the most out of the car. In the penalty shoot-out, Stroll crashed into the gravel at the last corner of the last attempt, lost to Alonso in the main classification and made a mistake in the second sector. 13th place in these conditions is still a good result.
Alejandro Albon – 6.5
Williams also lacked pace in Spielberg, and Albon made matters worse with a penalty for crossing the white line in the pit lane. Even without these ten seconds, Alex would have had a hard time getting into the top 10, but given the density in the midfield, the decision was still a delicate one.
Alex Albon after finishing the Austrian Grand Prix
Photo: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
Fernando Alonso – 6
The Spaniard, like his teammate, did not shine. Alonso was faster in qualifying, but he caused contact with Zhou and received an extra ten-second penalty. At that point, Fernando was no longer in the fight for points, but he did not realize the full potential of the car, which is normally expected of a team leader.
Carlos Leclerc – 5.5
Leclerc’s Saturday was ruined by a power plant failure in the penalty shootout: from tenth in the sprint, Charles could only climb to seventh. But the subsequent failures were entirely the Monegasque’s fault: he first made a mistake on the last attempt in Q3, and then he missed Pérez at the start, so he finally broke the wing in contact with Piastri.
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Yuki Tsunoda – 5
The weekend began with a spin in SQ1, as a result of which Yuki damaged his car and came out only 13th in the sprint, without the possibility of scoring points. In the main qualifying, Tsunoda also lost time on a fast lap, so he started Sunday very far away. After finishing in 14th place, the Japanese himself could not explain where the pace had gone.
Sergio Perez – 4
Another failure from Cheko. In the penalty shootout, Pérez was not to blame: he was unlucky to get stuck behind Ocon, but in the sprint, having one of the best cars in the peloton, Sergio could not catch up with Leclerc, and in the main Grand Prix crashed. with Piastri and broke his side pontoon, so at the finish line he ended up behind one of the Haas.
Pérez fought with the Haas drivers in this race
Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Guanyu Zhou – 4
Until the start of the race, Zhou was the slowest driver in Spielberg: 20th in the penalty shoot-out, 20th in the sprint and 20th in qualifying. In addition, on a rather short lap, Guanyu lost out to Bottas by more than 0.2 seconds. After changing the set-up before the start, the Chinese driver seemed to have the pace, but in the end he lost 25 seconds to his teammate.
Logan Sargent – 4
In SQ1, Sargent unexpectedly pulled ahead of Albon, but then everything went on as usual: in SQ2, Logan lost his best lap for violating track limits, in Saturday’s qualifying he lost to his teammate for the tenth time this year, and At the start of the main race he literally fell back the entire distance and was in last place.
Readers’ Choice:
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Who is the worst driver of the Austrian Formula 1 Grand Prix?
