Both Mercedes cars crashed at the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday in a dramatic end to an opening elimination session for Saturday’s sprint.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both returned to the paddock after separate collisions, while Formula One frontman Max Verstappen narrowly won pole for the sprint ahead of both Ferraris.
The sprint sets up the starting lineup for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Verstappen claimed his third pole position of the year, while Hamilton was trailing for the first time since last season’s penultimate race. He misjudged a turn and missed in Round 8, costing him his first chance of winning since winning from pole in Saudi Arabia 12 races ago.
Hamilton crashed with about five minutes left.
Disappointed Hamilton said: “Damn, so sorry you guys damaged the car. The seven-time world champion climbed out and checked the front right tire for depression.
As the session restarted, another red flag appeared when the back of Russell’s car crashed into Turn 10. He let out a long stream. He was then called up for walking across the track under a red flag.
Verstappen found his pace in the last attempt to overtake Charles Leclerc by just 0.029 seconds and Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz Jr., by 0.82.
Sainz Jr is hungry for another victory.
It took him 150 laps to finally win at Silverstone collided last Sunday, when Hamilton took the podium for a second straight time to give him hope of winning again.
Sainz’s father is Carlos Sainz Sr., a two-time race champion with 26 race wins.
Now his son knows what it’s like to be in the winners’ circle and he wants more.
“This win makes me more and more hungry to do it again as soon as possible, and to keep fighting to win,” Sainz said. “It’s very personal and it’s very difficult to describe what goes on in someone’s head. I can only tell you that it felt great, that it sank little by little. “
SCHUMACHER’s FIRST
Mick Schumacher, son of the great Michael Schumacher, has been making a splash since his first taste of success, however minor, last weekend at Silverstone.
After starting 31 races, the German scored the first – four – from eighth place.
Former champion Sebastian Vettel, a family friend, cheered behind him during the final laps. Schumacher’s sister then interrupted her brother’s post-race interview and sprayed him with Champagne.
Schumacher said he has floated with “a good and cheerful attitude” since then.
A little question.
It was a performance he really needed after two DNFs in the previous three races that led some observers to question his F1 future, and was even more impressive when he started. from the 19th.
“In the end,” Schumacher said, “it makes those spots so much sweeter.”
USA FERRARI?
Leclerc let down the British GP bitterly and tried to contain his frustration.
He thinks teammate Sainz didn’t move aside fast enough earlier in the race, and then when following a safety car he had trouble getting his team to keep him in position. race track than put him on to tire faster.
Captain Mattia Binotto even showed up to talk to him afterwards, instead of comforting him.
It is the second time this season that Leclerc has been stunned by the team’s calls, following the decision to put him on new tires as he took the lead in Monaco – the most difficult track to pass – and finished in second place. fourth at the home race.
After dinner with Binotto in Monaco this week, Leclerc insists there is no split in Ferrari.
“This is really not true. And I wish I didn’t have to because this is the exact same question I have everywhere else. We are incredibly united,” Leclerc said. “There is also some kind of disappointment. But there isn’t any kind of split inside the team, that’s for sure. “
Leclerc thinks Ferrari needs to improve “communication during the race” after what happened at Silverstone and in Monaco.
Silverstone resented Leclerc as Verstappen lost points in seventh and Leclerc could better close the gap – instead of 43 points behind when he went to Austria.
Leclerc won two of the first three races of the season to overtake Verstappen but he slipped to third place overall. His final podium was second in Miami and he has since had two DNFs, finishing fourth twice and fifth once.
Leclerc said: “The past five races have been quite difficult for me. “I just want to stay home (after Silverstone), disconnect a little bit from everything.”
SPRAY FOR COSMETICS
Austria is the second race this season to feature a sprint where the winner collects eight extra points. Verstappen overcame Leclerc to take it in Imola then won the race with the fastest lap bonus with a total of 34 points.
Verstappen, a four-time winner at the Red Bull ring in Spielberg, topped the first training session against Leclerc and Russell.
The race weekend sold out with 300,000 fans attending over three days at the racetrack nestled among the rolling hills of Styria.
Zhou’s teammate, Valtteri Bottas, will start from behind on Sunday after going through some allotted engine part changes.
BUDGET AND SUPPLEMENTS
The team budget cap of $140 million will be increased by a maximum of 3.1% in 2023 to allow teams to cope with rising inflation, F1 said after a committee meeting.
The $145 million 2021 cap has been reduced again to help smaller teams compete better.
In addition, the application of technical directives to further solve the arising problems has been transferred from the French GP on 22-24 July to the Belgian GP on 26-28 August, after the summer break. F1 says this gives teams more time to make “updates to the skateboard and skateboard assemblies”.
