From Max Verstappen in the attack to some very similar Mercedes drivers, and Racing Point’s true race pace to Sebastian Vettel trying to recover from a low starting point, we highlight five key issues to pay attention to at Red Bull Ring when the lights go out …
Verstappen playing with Red Bull’s strengths
Starting in the media poses a threat to Mercedes
At the end of qualifying, there was a huge focus on the gap between the Mercedes pair and Verstappen in third place, with the Red Bull driver half a second behind Valtteri Bottas.
Red Bull had looked more competitive earlier in the qualifying session before Mercedes cleared, but Verstappen put in what could be a key lap in the outcome of this mid-Q2 race. In his first race, he made two timed laps on medium tires, and the second was good enough to advance to Q3.
READ MORE: Verstappen Bets on Warm Weather to Make Tire Advantage Count in Sunday’s Race
That means Verstappen starts with those tires, and he’s the only driver in the top 10 to do so. And the qualifying time gap isn’t all that important when the grid is formed, with the Dutchman directly behind the two Mercedes drivers.
Red Bull was particularly strong on the medium tire during Friday’s long runs, and with temperatures looking high for Sunday (more on that later), their different strategy is the best chance to bring the fight to the top two. .
READ MORE: Sparkling Bottas Takes Master Pole As Ferrari Fights In Austria
HEAD TO HEAD: Where Bottas had the advantage over Verstappen in qualifying
Bottas and Hamilton were very close
Only 0.012s separated the pair in qualifying
Verstappen will also expect him to get some help from the two struggling Mercedes drivers as they seem ready for an exciting fight between them. Traditionally, Bottas has done well in the Red Bull Ring, and found his rhythm at the right time by qualifying for the first pole position of 2020.
READ MORE: “I finally unlocked acting on myself,” says Bottas after Austrian pole
In the first race of the season with zero points on the dash, both drivers receive equal chances from Mercedes to fight for victory, and the first few laps are likely to be crucial as they battle for position on the track for the best strategy. .
Hamilton was almost facing a tougher fight after he was investigated for allegedly not slowing down the yellow flags on his last lap in Q3 after Bottas had hit the road ahead of him, but the stewards cleared him of any irregularity after reviewing the video. That means the defending champion will have the inside line for Turn 1 …
CLOCK: The incident that caused Hamilton to be investigated
Racing Point Race Pace
Could there be podium potential?
One of the main areas of focus since the preseason testing, in terms of track matters, of course, has been the 2020 Racing Point car and its similarity to last year’s Mercedes. The car looked strong in the preseason and carried that form until Friday and Saturday.
Friday’s pace suggested Racing Point was potentially the third fastest overall behind Mercedes and Red Bull, so it was almost a disappointment for the team not to lead McLaren in qualifying. Lando Norris took an impressive lap to qualify fourth, but the British driver admits that he will have to look in his mirrors at Alex Albon and Racing Point, which represents a great threat.
READ MORE: “We never thought we could beat Racing Point,” admits Norris after being the best fourth in qualifying.
With Albon a bit adrift of Verstappen’s performance, in part because the Dutchman got an upgrade first, and Ferrari definitely struggling at this early point in the season, that fourth place is the minimum goal the team will have on Sunday, and one to slip out of the top three could open up a podium opportunity.
Vettel starts out of the top 10
Ferrari has been struggling but has strategic options
Ferrari warned that they were likely to have trouble early in the season, but we’ve gotten so used to the top three of Mercedes-Ferrari-Red Bull before a midfield package that it was still a big surprise to see Sebastian Vettel retire on Q2.
READ MORE: ‘I thought we had more on hand’ – Vettel ‘surprised’ by the start of the second quarter while Ferrari struggles in Austria
The German says his starting position at 11 is just a reflection of Ferrari’s pace in Austria, with balance issues preventing him from finding the little time he needs to join teammate Charles Leclerc in Q3. But not all is lost…
Ferrari’s long race pace didn’t seem particularly strong, but Vettel has the benefit of a free choice of tires, which will likely make him the top-ranked driver apart from Verstappen to start in the media. And the Red Bull Ring is definitely a circuit where you can overtake, as Vettel impressively showed last season.
Difficult temperatures and racial oxidation
Sunday will be the hottest day of the weekend as races resume.
After a long delay to start the season and with many teams having significantly different cars than the ones that finished testing, Friday’s track race was crucial to understanding how they are performing. But after two days that were relatively cold for this time of year, Sunday will be noticeably hotter, with ambient temperatures rising to 30 ° C.
That will open up unknowns in terms of tire life and performance, so strategies might need to change once the first few laps show how the race unfolds … but there could also be driver variables.
READ MORE: Leclerc does not “expect miracles” at the Austrian GP as Ferrari “does not even come close” to expectations
It’s been over seven months since any of the drivers entered Turn 1 at full speed along with 19 other F1 cars, and it’s a show we can’t wait to see. But you also have the potential for incidents, as some drivers may take a cautious approach, while others see an opportunity.
Reliability often plays a role in any season’s opening run as well, and with people like Williams showing improved performance, George Russell almost reaching Q2, all 10 teams will believe that points could be offered if they performed their best. . abilities.
And whatever he has told us on Friday, we will see the final race pace of the 10 teams for the first time, and get our first real picture of where the main battles will be in 2020.
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