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It's at the 2018 Canadian Grand Prix that Lewis Hamilton lamented Mercedes' decision to delay the update of his winning power units from the championship. But of course, in Canada, Sebastian Vettel comfortably defeated Valtteri Bottas while Hamilton scored the worst result of his season – fifth. Did this result prompt Mercedes to publish an update for the subsequent Grands Prix – France and Austria?
Max Verstappen celebrates his victory at the Grand Prix of Austria. AFP
Mercedes: compromising reliability?
Force India (a customer of Mercedes power unit) Sergio Perez suffered from a water pressure problem in France. At the time, we had raised the question of whether the Mercedes update was stable enough for the race, but as it was not one of the drivers of the Mercedes team that suffered this bad luck, the failure has not made the headlines. In Austria, Bottas suffered from a gearbox problem while Hamilton had to pull out his car due to fuel pressure issues. In their attempt to fight and beat Ferrari every fortnight (or in the case of this triple head, every weekend), Mercedes has it a little too pushed the limits of its reliability? The team clearly denies it, but again, if you were engaged in an intense battle with your rivals, would you ever admit such a failure?
However, the details of the Ferrari vs. Mercedes battle in Austria can wait. The 2018 Austria Grand Prix is to be celebrated for two drivers who really need a good result: Max Verstappen and Romain Grosjean. The prodigy of Red Bull Racing won his first victory of the season of Formula 1 2018 at Red Bull, before Dietrich Mateschitz (owner of Red Bull) and thousands of Dutch fans. After many (and deserved) critics at the start of the season, Verstappen's victory means that the nine races this season have been won by four different drivers.
Red Bull's master stroke For Max Verstappen
After dominating Kimi Raikkonen in the first lap to take third place, the Verstappen race was facilitated by a master shot of the strategy of tires under the virtual safety car by the pit-wall Red Bull Racing. The team chose to double its drivers, just like Ferrari; while Mercedes chose to drop Hamilton – an error that they publicly apologized to Hamilton for several times on their team radio.
The large number of Mercedes excuses to Lewis Hamilton is shocking! # F1 #AustriaGP
– Kunal Shah (@kunalashah) 1 July 2018
Like some of the previous races of the season, it was the time of the period of the virtual security car that shook the race order. Hamilton, who was in the fastest car and should have won comfortably, then had to take a break in normal race conditions – a decision that cost him 10-12 seconds on the track, also the difference between the first and the second. fourth place. A daring Hamilton did his best to save his team's mistake, but tire and car issues prevented him from winning the World Drivers' Championship title, Vettel. Mercedes' reluctance to play again under the virtual safety car period (they did not do it in Australia) is surprising.
However, Mercedes's tug at Mercedes-Benz once again proves that Fighting constantly ahead, Red Bull Racing is doing with all its tools and more to jump on Ferrari and Mercedes at the slightest mistake. This was Red Bull Racing's first win on the local scene since it was added to the calendar in 2014. Mercedes has won all of its victories since then.
After clinching a double in qualifying on Saturday, most expected in the park for Mercedes, some even believe that Bottas could challenge Hamilton for the win. Bottas, who scored his second pole position in Austria, is arguably the most unlucky driver on the grid right now – a mark he may want to return to Fernando Alonso.
Haas's highest points
Grosjean, Haas The senior driver had a lot to look forward to after finally succeeding in a perfect weekend for him and the team (he gave him it took nine races to do it). The French driver finished fourth and led the team to its highest point of the race. Kevin Magnussen led a fine race to take fifth place and is now seventh in the Drivers' Championship – the coveted "Best of the Rest" position after the first six drivers. Haas jumped on Force India and McLaren in the constructors' championship and is now fifth behind Renault.
The 2018 Austrian Grand Prix reminded us of some of the races of the 1990s and 2000s, where levels of attrition were high. average score points (although at the time, the top six scored points). After four starts in the top 10 of the standings, the chances of the leaders scoring points have become higher. Marcus Ericsson did well to finish 10th and join rookie teammate Charles Leclerc (9th) to score two points for Sauber. In the case of McLaren, Alonso used a front wing in 2017 to start from the pit lane, fight in the midfield and finish eighth to score McLaren's first score in the last four races. No, McLaren did not run out of money to make new wings before, it was simply due to the fact that McLaren drivers had damaged the front fenders during training thanks to the new curbs used to impose the track limits in Austria
Esteban Ocon (6th) was ahead of Sergio Perez (7th) after the team ordered his drivers to swap and re-position positions – a tactic that did not make a difference. is not new to Formula 1. Force India has ordered Ocon to leave Perez however, who was on cooler tires thanks to a longer first sting. It was intended to allow Perez to use his new rubber to hunt and hopefully double the Haas Magnussen. However, in the last lap of the race, Force India ordered Perez to change the position with Ocon since Magnussen was impossible to catch up with. Perez legitimately protested against this decision because he could have surpassed Ocon on the right track and claim his place.
But that's the way situations are handled when you run for a midfielder team. The ambitions of the teams to score points and increase their potential to win more money in the constructors 'championship still weigh more than the drivers' championship. One could argue that with the team claiming the 6th and 7th place, the finish order of the drivers would not be too important. But again, this could be due to the team's internal agreements, which we also discussed with Red Bull Racing during the qualifying session on Saturday
Ferrari respects Kimi Raikkonen
an exchange in the race was Ferrari. In fact, it was during the infamous Austrian Grand Prix of 2002 that Ferrari's orders to exchange positions between Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher became a worldwide controversy that cost Ferrari a few thousand dollars and prompted the sport to ban orders. Vettel's qualifying penalty meant that Raikkonen outstripped his teammate in the race – that's after a brilliant start that saw him almost take the lead in the race for Mercedes cars. In fact, one can not remember when Raikkonen was aggressive in an opening round and that it was not eliminated by a competitor!
After giving up the Mercedes and Daniel Ricciardo due to car problems, Ferrari found his drivers in 2nd position (Raikkonen) and 3rd (Vettel) positions. While Hamilton scored zero, almost everyone would have bet on Ferrari by asking Räikkönen to let Vettel finish 2nd and score 3 extra points in the drivers' championship. However, this was pleasantly not the case. A rare show of respect for the ambitions of Räikkönen – who scored his fifth podium of the season and is only 45 points behind (3rd) in the Drivers' Championship behind Vettel. We must also keep in mind that during the Grand Prix de France, Raikkonen was allowed to overtake and overtake Vettel!
Ironically, even though a Renault car (Verstappen) won the victory, the French team and power unit manufacturer had a race to forget. Carlos Sainz Jr finished 12th and away points while two of Renault's power units exploded in the middle of the race – for Nico Hulkenberg and Ricciardo. While the cars powered by the four power unit manufacturers scored points, all teams powered by Ferrari scored two points! But could Ferrari and Vettel have won the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix?
Vettel vs. Hamilton: They fought on the track
Hamilton claimed that despite his unexpected retirement, his Mercedes was the field class in Austria and it would be difficult to demystify his claim. However, the hottest Sunday temperatures saw the Mercedes and Red Bull suffer from blisters that compromised their racing pace; In the case of Hamilton, he even needed a second time. On the other hand, the Ferrari seemed comfortable in these conditions and definitely handled their tires better. If the race was held normally, we could have seen a exchange of fortunes with Spain thanks to the Mercedes and Ferrari tires. And of course, the three zones of the DRS made it possible to overtake and Vettel made a spectacular move on Hamilton – a rare fight between the two protagonists!
The double retirement of Mercedes for mechanical reasons was probably the first since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix. It is also the first time in almost ten years that Ferrari has taken the lead of the constructors' championships and pilots.
The 2018 Austria Grand Prix will be inscribed in history as a chaotic and fun race (thanks to the virtual safety car?). The short tour and circuit design added to the challenges of the drivers. Next appointment is the British Grand Prix 2018 on the famous Silverstone Circuit, which we often present as "Lord's to Cricket, Silverstone is in Formula 1". Vettel leads Hamilton to the championship standings by a lone point – and both drivers will be looking for a good result at Silverstone. For many teams and for Hamilton, the British Grand Prix would be a home race, and trust British fans to celebrate a Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend like no other.
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