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Red Bull will also be particularly determined to take the fight to Mercedes in what is a home race for the Austrian-owned team of energy drinks hosted on a track that is also owned by them
Lewis Hamilton
World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton expects to fight this weekend, while he wants to extend the invincibility of his Mercedes team on the track of the Red Bull Ring with the victory at the Austrian Grand Prix
The German mark has won each race around the circuit of 4.3 kilometers long, nestled among the lush alpine meadows of the mountains Styrie, since his return to the calendar in 2014. But with a relative form between teams varying almost on a race per race, Hamilton knows that all bets are canceled this year . "It does not really make a difference to arrive this weekend," said 33-year-old Hamilton, who won last week in France and took over the lead of the Ferrari rally, Sebastian Vettel, in the fourth exchange this year. 19659005] "Because it's a new year, we are all so much closer, it's a short circuit, everything will be closer than ever, everyone has some improvements and I think that's all the time. is one of the closest qualifying sessions I've had this season. "Still, Hamilton made the best start possible this weekend, finishing both of the test sessions. Yesterday in Mercedes-Benz before Valtteri Bottas. While the Finn was only 0.176 seconds behind his team-mate Vettel, Mercedes' slowest car in third position was 0.236 seconds behind.
This is a terrific gap for such a short track, all the more so as Hamilton has set its benchmark on the less adherent soft tire compared to the far ultra-softs for the German. Nevertheless, Vettel tends to increase his speed as the weekend progresses and the gap could be much closer to qualifying and running. The 30-year-old, who, like Hamilton, has won three races this year, also wants to make up for last week's mistake in France that cost him the lead in the championship. "I've had a lot of races," Vettel told reporters Thursday. "Sometimes I try to minimize it, but I'm not worried."
While mistrustful of the threat posed by Ferrari and Red Bull, Hamilton may also need to keep an eye on Bottas through the Mercedes Garage. Of Mercedes's four successive victories in Austria, only one was won by Hamilton. But the track was nice with Bottas. The 28-year-old won his first F1 podium in 2014 while driving for Williams. He also won the race last year, in his first season for the Mercedes champions. But the Finn has borne more than his fair share of misery this season which has cost him two victories and, more recently, at least a third place a week ago in France where Vettel collided with him at the start. The Red Bull Ring could therefore be the ideal place to mark a change of fortune. "I just like the track," Bottas said. "I can not say in particular why it would be a good track for me, I like it, nice to drive." I hope that this year we can be as strong as last year. "
Red Bull The Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo, who will be celebrating his 29th birthday on December 29, will also be determined to take the lead of the Austrian energy drink company on a track that belongs to him as well. Sunday, the podium is at its peak: "I think this year, in general, we had a good pace on almost all the layouts we visited … so we were there, if not on the podium, So near there "In 2016, Max (Verstappen) got a podium here, 'I did it, so I hope both players can get there on Sunday."
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