Perhaps inspired by the large statue of a bull that stands in the middle of the Red Bull Ring, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris thought it best that the Austrian GP was not the eleventh race of the F1 World Championship but a rodeo. Lando had the worst of it, having broken off diplomatic relations with a colleague he claimed to be a friend of, but the monarch of motors also paid the price. Not by much, however: even a fifth place boosted his standings. George Russell won, the eternal runner-up who drew the joker that is worth the highest stakes: between two quarrelsome drivers, it is well known that the third party benefits.
Max Verstappen: 4
This time too we start with him, the star of F1, but not to praise his skills and give him a super grade, but to send him behind the blackboard. Max here and there in the past has been a Doctor Jekyll who sometimes transformed into the very evil Mister Hyde. For a while, thanks to the domination over his rivals, this no longer happened. But at Zeltweg 2024 the McLarens were provoking him and his vein closed, without finding the potion with which Hyde would come to his senses and become Jekyll again. So we saw him irregularly stop Norris’ attacks (three times: always forgiven) and finally combine the mess with his now ex-friend. Indefensible: in bed without dinner, also because of that blockage – something not like him – which put him in the Englishman’s sights. Post scriptum: but since champions also have the blessings of the B side, here is that a) the clash with Lando does not force him to retire and b) that with a simple fifth place he manages to extend his lead in the World Championship, Norris having been forced to retire and Leclerc, his other main pursuer, having finished outside the points zone.
George Russell: 8,5
Let’s face it: without the rustic duel Verstappen-Norris would have calmly finished in third place. His consistency, sometimes a bit insipid, this time has the merit of finding him in the right place at the right time. Luck completes the work: in the final he does not pay the price for having the “hard” tires, against the “medium” ones mounted by his opponents, and a Virtual Safety Car becomes the perfect shield to protect himself from the possible extreme assault of Piastri. George on November 13, 2022 in Brazil had given the last victory to Mercedes: now he takes it out of a fast that for over a year and a half has been embarrassing. Zeltweg’s first place does not at all certify that the W 15 has become top performing, but it is a horizon to follow.
Oscar Plates: 8
He will regret that slip-up in qualifying that cost him the cancellation of his time and the move back on the grid. With “ifs” and “buts” you don’t make history, but it is likely that starting further up the field the Australian would have had much better chances. A deserved podium in any case, with the scalps of Hamilton and Sainz (a trumpet overtaking to take second place from him).
Lando Norris: 8
He also made a mess of things, starting with an overly optimistic attack on Verstappen: he did pass the Dutchman, but he ended up long and had to give up the position. However, Lando deserves credit for having given it his all to challenge the man who is an all-round totem, both for his skill and for the “nudges” that the Dutchman receives when his actions at the limit need to be judged.
Carlos Sainz: 7.5
The same argument made for Russell applies to third place: as in the case of the Englishman’s victory, the Spaniard’s podium was also born from a combination of favorable coincidences. But Carlos also remained on the ball and managed to buffer with a good result a weekend that for Ferrari seemed headed towards a cumulonimbus storm. But realism is needed. And Sainz has it: “Now we don’t have the means to win.”
Charles Leclerc: 7
He didn’t know that his destiny in the 2024 Austrian GP would be to play the part of the slices of ham in a sandwich (the bread was provided by Piastri and Perez). It happens, Charles found himself with a ruined front wing and due to the forced and long pit stop his GP ended after one lap. Then he dedicated himself to acting as a “laboratory” for the Reds, with the goal, narrowly missed (eleventh place), of climbing back up to the points zone.
McLaren: 6,5
He has by far the fastest car, but for some reason or another (bad luck included) he can’t win. He risks becoming a human case.
Ferrari: 5,5
The worst thing, after a podium achieved in this way, would be to raise the paeans and make carousels. Austria has not resolved the prognosis on the Prancing Horse and has not answered the fundamental question: do/will the updates introduced since Imola work or not? Vasseur, however, has announced that there is no going back and that they will march on the path traced. Confidence and coherence at least are not lacking. Hoping that it will not be necessary to improve… by hammering the SF-24.
Nico Hulkenberg: 7,5
The German leaving the team gives a juicy sixth place to a Haas that is still convincing also in the second driver, Kevin Magnussen (grade 7: he finishes eighth), and in the team performance. Let’s see if from here on the American team will be able to stabilize in the continuity of a good level.
Pierre Gasly: 7
Together with his teammate Ocon, in front of whose car he would probably like to sow nails, the Frenchman from Milan gives life to a tight duel. In the end he wins, with a lot of sneers (a «ciao ciao» flies on the radio). The «ciao big» is perhaps neither elegant nor fair, but that’s how F1 goes. Especially if Flavio Briatore is in the pits, someone who wants decisive types at the wheel, not wimps.
Yuki Tsunoda: 4
Perhaps he forgot that he was racing in a fundamentally “British” world, where a certain etiquette prevails. So saying on the radio, referring to Guanyu Zhou who had hindered him in qualifying, “these guys are retarded as f…”, is not only reprehensible but also risky. Said and done: a 40 thousand euro fine. A Japanese beaten for violating manners had never been seen in human history: the world is really going backwards…
I track limits: 2
We’ve already said it: putting a stop to the risk of tricks on the track is right and proper. But now with these track limits we are exaggerating, mortifying the show. No thanks.
The stewards: 1
When Max Verstappen commits the infractions, do we tend to turn a blind eye and be indulgent? Sorry, FIA stewards, but that’s exactly the impression we get. And even the 10-second penalty – which wouldn’t have changed anything – for the fight with Norris seemed like a slap rather than a punishment.
Sergio Perez and Logan Sargeant: 0
Let’s start with the American. When Leclerc had to stop to change the wing (and tires), he wasn’t last when he returned to the track because he had the Williams driver behind him. As for Perez – who drives a Red Bull, remember – he finished seventh, therefore detached from Verstappen despite the Dutchman finding himself with three wheels and forced to make an additional stop. Widespread sloppiness, on the ups and downs of Styria…
June 30, 2024
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