max verstappen has won andl Austrian Grand Prix, the seventh which is scored in 2023 (fifth in a row), in a series rarely seen at the beginning of the season. Not only that, but a final extra stop was allowed with two laps to go to also take the fastest lap, just to snatch it away from Checo Perez, third after coming back from 15th, in an excellent display.
Charles Leclerc achieves the second podium for Ferrari this year, in a new sequence of decisions and mistakes of Ferrari, that only made Carlos handcuff and harm in the first third of the test. Sainz you have to settle for it room despite being faster than his partner and ride better all weekend. from the red wall It was imposed that Sainz not attack Charles at the start, when he was faster and that ended up crushing the Spanish.
A safety car, on lap 14, was the rivet for the podium options of ’55’, as those from Maranello opted for a double stop in unison and had to wait for Leclerc to finish his arrest (slow as always), so that his turn would come (slow as always).
As a result, Sainz, despite overtaking Checo, Hamilton and Norris throughout the test, could not contain the Mexican’s final attack. Too cruel for his interests, once again.
The mental jam at Ferrari
To Carlos, to make matters worse, he received a five-second penalty for exceeding the track limits four times …AND when he had to fulfill them, his mechanics endorsed him six, with one of nails, for a total stop of 9.4 seconds. Everything that could go wrong happened to hurt Carlos over and over again. At Ferrari they don’t do it on purpose, but they slow down your fastest car. to then punish him in the strategy, instead of making him enter a lap later does not have much of an explanation. I claimed it over the radio, but everything seems useless when it comes to ordering logical decisions on this wall, which has not found fluidity for many years when difficulties arrive. Another day it will be the turn of the Monegasque, because it does not seem a matter of preferences but of incompetence.
Alonso sixth, without rhythm in his car
For Fernando Alonso was the worst race with Barcelona. The Aston Martin suffered from a lack of pace in both qualifying and in the Sprint and in the race it was more of the same. I came out cIt was hard to try to extend the first stop, but he couldn’t find speed with that game and got off Norris. Par on lap 15 and had to catch up with his rivals in terms of strategy. tried hunt Hamilton and he did it for being penalized for English (limits), but he could not oppose anything to Lando Norris throughout the test.
The sixth final is the best I could get from AMR23 this Sunday and again he did it.
The Aston Martin’s weakness is confirmed by Lance Stroll’s car, which started sixth ahead of Fernando and finished tenth, burning their tires in record time. With the evolutions to gain load and speed, the virtue of little degradation, with which it reached the podium in the initial races of 2023 seems to have vanished. We will have to confirm this trend at Silverstone, which will be next week, a very demanding event for all the cars and where efficiency and the engine are demanded to the maximum.. In any case, Fernando has scored points in nine out of nine races and has achieved six podiums, which was an automatic pipe dream before the season started. There will be other options for the 33rd, such as Hungary, this same month of July.
Austrian Grand Prix 2023
1 M Verstappen Red Bull 71/71
2 C. Leclerc Ferrari + 5″155
3 S. Perez Red Bull + 17″188
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari + 21″377
5L Norris McLaren + 26″327
6 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin + 30″317
7L Hamilton Mercedes + 39″196
8 G. Russell Mercedes + 48″403
9 P.Gasly Alpine + 57″667
10 L. Stroll Aston Martin + 59″043
11 A. Albon Williams + 69″767
12 E. Ocon Alpine + 1 lap
13L Sargeant Williams + 1 lap
14 G. Zhou Alfa Romeo + 1 lap
15 N. De Vries AlphaTauri + 1 lap
16 V. Bottas Alfa Romeo + 1 lap
17 Y. Tsunoda AlphaTauri + 1 lap
18 O. Piastri McLaren + 1 lap
19 K. Magnussen Haas + 1 lap
20 N. Hulkenberg Haas Retired
Exit: Alonso passed Stroll and was about to do it with Norris
The positions ahead remained, but Sainz was about to pass Lercles, after a frustrated attempt by the Monegasque to pass Verstappen on the outside at turn 4.
A very fast safety car at the exit of Tsunoda on gravel, which left some pieces on the asphalt.
Resalida (v4/71). Without changes
Max kept the first and Leclerc quickly lost the distance from DRS, but not Sainz, who stuck to the Monegasque. Alonso took care of his hard tires to go to a stop in theory.
Stroll overtook Hulkenberg and placed seventh behind Alonso, who controlled the situation without problems and left air with Norris, waiting for his moment.
“Don’t attack for now,” they told Sainz on lap 10, despite the fact that he was much faster than Leclerc.
Checo overtook Albon (V13), climbed to ninth and was going like a shot.
Virtual safety car (V14). Carlos loses to Hamilton
By exit of Hulkenberg. Leclec entered and Carlos later, but with a slow stop, while Verstappen was left alone.
With extra time lost in the pits, the Spaniard was passed by Hamilton, in another disaster. First for not letting it pass, then for not being left out and further on for the slow stop. Sainz complained bitterly on the radio.
Alonso stopped on lap 15
He did not lengthen the stop with the hard ones, which seemed not to work. Carlos was fifth Alonso seventh.
Passage from Sainz to Lewis and Checo
Hamilton had the hard one and Checo had not stopped. He was angry and went for Leclerc again,
Almost followed both maneuvers, to be placed again in podium positions.
Verstappen put hard (V25) and came out third after Sainz
It was the only stop for Red Bull on paper and it only took one lap for them to be second again.
Max passed Leclerc (v35/71) and was the leader again
Charles was losing steam with a medium 18 laps and Max, with a hard 9, passed Remus like nothing.
Sainz was just six seconds behind his teammate and cutting back, but he had a 5-second penalty for track limits, so his maximum was third place in the final. Checo came from behind and stuck to Alonso.
Checo passed Alonso (v42)
Without being able to oppose anything and with little rhythm, the Mexican was fifth, while Fernando was sixth after Norris and Hamilton stopped, serving his 5-second penalty for limits.
Alonso stopped for the second time (V45) and Carlos also in 46
Fernando returned sixth and Sainz fifth, with a stop of 9.4 seconds, which meant that the penalty was 6 seconds with Ferrari’s account and not five as the FIA marked.
Sainz immediately passed Norris and was already fourth.
Verstappen’s second stop (V50 and a half to the end
He returned to the track first, ahead of Checo. who stopped in the next one and returned fifth after Norris but with some new hard ones until the end.
Brutal fight between Sainz and Checo, which the Mexican wins
Not only did he seek the podium, but he did an invaluable job for Leclerc to stop the Mexican. It was five laps of taat that he opted for the DRS for Prez.
The final podium will be Verstappen, Leclerc and Checo, with Sainz fourth and Alonso sixth.
