If the adoption of the sprint race format is intended to bring more drama and intrigue to all three days of the Grand Prix weekend, this year’s Austrian Grand Prix may be the best example of how this radical new approach can also be a sword. two blades.
A close finish to qualifying on Friday suggested that Ferrari are level with Red Bull and championship leader Max Verstappen, with the trio separated by less than a tenth. There was also the added interest of Mercedes, who were also threatening to enter the race if Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had not thrown their cars into barriers in the all-important qualifying phase.
But after a relatively uneventful sprint race – at least at the front of the field – took place on Saturday, the same four from Friday remained. It was only now that everyone from the drivers and teams themselves to the millions watching around the world were left with a very strong sense of how Sunday’s 71-lap main event was likely to play out.
After grabbing pole position at the last possible moment on Friday, Verstappen warned that his Red Bull was likely to be stronger in a race situation than a single lap. And while he may not have topped the second practice session on Saturday afternoon, his lap times on medium tires were consistently faster than what Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr managed.
Leclerc’s mirrors were filled by his teammate’s car. In the 23-lap sprint race, with all those leading the averages, Verstappen’s early advantage over the Ferraris was by no means huge. In the early stages, both Sainz and Leclerc successfully matched Verstappen for pace, with Leclerc going on to match or beat the championship leader’s times eight times in the first 14 laps of the sprint race, while Sainz began to gradually drop away. What cost Ferrari – and especially Leclerc – the most were the laps when the pair were more focused on battling each other than catching Red Bull ahead.
Although Verstappen kept Leclerc well out of DRS range for the remaining laps and took the checkered flag to secure pole position for Sunday, he had to admit he wasn’t just going around with spare pace bags in hand as Leclerc closed in pursuit at the end of the race.
“The sprint, of course, doesn’t give you the full picture ahead of the race tomorrow, but in terms of pace, it’s close between us and Ferrari,” Verstappen said.
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“I still expect it to be a tough fight tomorrow. It will be very important to make good strategic decisions during the race as you never know what can happen. It won’t be easy, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Verstappen took another sprint win. The closest the Ferrari came to Verstappen in the sprint was Sainz’s failed attack at turn three on the first lap. However, race director Laurent Mequies emerged from the pit wall more reassured by the team’s closeness to Verstappen at the checkered flag than disappointed that Red Bull had beaten them.
“Today’s sprint race confirmed that it is very close between us and our main rivals on this track as well,” explained Mekies.
“It was important to test that in race conditions and I’d say the 23 laps this afternoon confirmed that. I think tomorrow’s race will be very contested and anything can happen.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, having been the Ferrari driver closest to Verstappen in the final, Leclerc was of the opinion that he and team-mate Sainz should not get bogged down in a head-to-head battle on Sunday to avoid risking allow Verstappen to get away from them again.
“I think tomorrow will be a long race and tire management will be a lot more important than today,” said Leclerc. “So we probably can’t afford to do tomorrow what we did today, no.”
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Having shown no hesitation in fighting for position against his team-mate when the opportunity presented itself, Sainz is happy for Ferrari and team boss Mattia Binotto to allow them to challenge for Sunday’s Grand Prix – unless Ferrari decide to tell him otherwise.
Perez has largely overcome his qualifying penalty,” Mattia will decide. And the team,” Sainz said. “It wasn’t that we lost much and it didn’t look like Max was panicking too much up front with our pace. But we need to make sure we stay closer at the beginning of the stay and are closer at the end of the stay. I think that’s what we have to try and do tomorrow.”
One advantage for Ferrari on Saturday was that there was only one Red Bull to focus on, with Sergio Perez starting 13th on the sprint grid after a penalty. That won’t be the case on Sunday after Perez climbed to fifth on the grid for the Grand Prix, almost completely canceling his qualifying penalty, putting him firmly within striking distance of joining the party at the front when it matters most . But Perez knows he will have plenty more time during the weekend’s longer race.
“Patience will be key on Sunday,” Perez said. “I want to start well and get into the race right away.
“I made up four places on the first lap today, so I hope it’s the same tomorrow. We are still unlocking the car’s potential, so we can look forward to the race.”
Behind Red Bull and Ferrari, Mercedes would have been very happy if Russell could start from fourth in the sprint after crashing in Q3. The team’s practice pace on Friday was encouraging, so will that translate when it comes to a competitive situation? Based on Russell’s sprint race speed, it looks like the answer will be “not quite.”
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“The difference was more than we expected,” admitted Russell, who had to switch to an older-spec rear wing after his crash. “We were 13 seconds behind after 23 laps, so that’s almost half a second a lap.
Russell lacked the pace in the repaired Mercedes. “We have to work all night to find out why we dropped the pace. Small things can make a difference – the tires were not easy to manage and different approaches to downforce levels will play a role tomorrow. But we have no doubt that we have work to do.”
Behind Russell and Perez on the grid will be Esteban Ocon in the Alpina, pleased to have dropped just one place from his sprint starting position to Perez’s recovering Red Bull. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for team-mate Fernando Alonso, whose car seemed to object so strongly to the sprint race format that it switched itself off before the formation lap and refused to restart in time for the start.
With the mountaineer due to start on the back row of the grid alongside the suspended Valtteri Bottas on Sunday, watching a helpless Alonso try to force his way through the field with a strong car underneath him will be one of the most interesting elements of the grand price And with Alonso finishing the second practice session fourth fastest, there’s plenty of reason to think the oldest driver on the grid will plan to put his wealth of race experience to good use.
After Friday, Pirelli predicted the soft tire could last the 24 laps of the sprint race with careful handling. While this was proven true by a handful of drivers, none were anywhere near the top 10. Heading into Sunday’s 306km Grand Prix, Mario Isola expects the two harder compounds to likely be favored by the field.
“Today the teams were able to get some useful long-term environmental data during the sprint race,” explained Isola. “Good information for tomorrow’s race, which looks likely to be a medium to firm one-stop, as evidenced by the performance of the tires today.”
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Leclerc is eager for a closer battle than this one. “The two-stopper is slower under normal circumstances, but the best way to do it is to use all three compounds: medium, hard and then soft. There is a fairly high probability of a safety car here on a tight and unforgiving track, so that could affect two brakes.”
The only element that could potentially shake things up for Sunday is the impact of the overnight rain, which washes away the rubber built up from the sprint race and potentially leaves a wet track for the start of the Grand Prix. Weather radars suggest rain is unlikely to affect operations, but if it does come, it could fan the frontline battle far more widely than on dry land.
Not that this is likely to trouble the winner, who has not been beaten in a single race session at the Red Bull Ring for the past two years and more. If Ferrari are to prevent another clean sweep by Verstappen in front of many of his adoring fans, they will need to play smart on Sunday.
To you
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Austrian Grand Prix 2022
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