2023 - Race 10 Austria

[F1nKS]

Austria up next...Story lines

Alonso push to 2nd
Mercedes resurgence
Is Checo feeling pressure with the announcement that Riciardo will do the tire test in the GB?
Who is worst - Devries or Sargeant?

[Nitrodaze]

Heading to Redbull's tuff, it is going to be all about the two Redbull drivers really. Can Perez step up his game? Of course, weather allowing. Lots of speculation on Pertez's future with Ricciardo in the wings testing to show his current form. If the Spielberg ring turns out to be another bust for Perez, can he survive into 2024?

The fight for second place in the constructor championship is getting tougher than ever between Aston Martin and Mercedes. The Aston seems to have made a step forward over the Mercedes if Canada was anything to go by. Can Aston reclaim 2nd place in the championship this weekend? Ferrari seems to go really well here, can they mount a surprise this weekend?

This is one track that suits Verstappen's driving style more than it suits Perez, so it might be a forgone conclusion; all things being equal. Of course, it comes down to Redbull having a good weekend of operational efficiency and reliability. It is F1, so anything is possible given the right conditions.

[F1nKS]

Perez falters. Ferrari's shine. Surprise by Norris. Hamilton solid performance. Now to the sprint race.

[N. Jones]

What is this shootout? Didn't qualifying set the grid for the shootout?

I am massively confused.

[N. Jones]

OK, I read the details of the new format for the sprint.
It is obvious that this needs to go. A second qualifying run just for the sprint makes absolutely no sense and needs to be abandoned entirely.

[Bagwan]

OK, I read the details of the new format for the sprint.
It is obvious that this needs to go. A second qualifying run just for the sprint makes absolutely no sense and needs to be abandoned entirely.

I say get rid of the whole thing .

It was actually kinda fun to watch , but it takes away from the anticipation for tomorrow's race .

We now know pretty clearly who is fast and who is not .
All that remains is how well each driver can save his tires .

I thought this sprint thing was all about qualifying the grid for Sunday , and they go and add a separate qually for the race .
It smells like they are trying anything to fix a non-problem , throwing things at a wall , hoping one will stick .
It looks pretty "bush league" from here .


It rained today , which helped the spectacle , but it could have mixed up the grid nicely for tomorrow's race , had qually been in the same window of time today .

[airshifter]

I was aware of the new format from seeing the releases about it. I watched qually yesterday and was busy today so didn't turn on to watch the Sprint until 11 PM or so. I was wondering why the grid was so screwed up! :laugh:

Another dumb gimmick IMHO. BUT, it might give some teams a chance to see points where they otherwise wouldn't, such as today with the Sprint qually and race (or is it still a Sprint non race?) take place in changing conditions vs expected dry race and the qually was dry. That could give good exposure to the lesser teams if they get it right. Gutted for Albon, I think at his point they should have just stayed on the inters but at least they tried.

Combined with the wild Sprint qual session and the fact that the track was drying enough to make many opt to change to dry tires, it was at least some interesting strategy and actually some good racing on track.... or is it still non racing?

Merc blew it in the Sprint qual... just blew it bad. As for the race, Lando got screwed out of a point by George, as George grossly crossed the pit entry on his way in for the tire change. Yuki got a 5 second penalty and a point for doing the same a couple years back.

[Tazio]

'noda!

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

[Bagwan]

I'm tired of hearing about how unfair it is to have to stay between the lines , and how they feel it makes F1 look amateur .
Some drivers stayed in bounds all day .

It also feels a bit "icky" to hear them ratting each other out .
I suppose they must , though , if they are seeing breaches that the stewards are not .
The whining(not mentioning any names here) sounds really amateur .



Perhaps some sort of new track sensors or new overhead corner cameras could make white line policing easier for all involved .

[The Black Knight]

I'm tired of hearing about how unfair it is to have to stay between the lines , and how they feel it makes F1 look amateur .
Some drivers stayed in bounds all day .

It also feels a bit "icky" to hear them ratting each other out .
I suppose they must , though , if they are seeing breaches that the stewards are not .
The whining(not mentioning any names here) sounds really amateur .



Perhaps some sort of new track sensors or new overhead corner cameras could make white line policing easier for all involved .

Back around 2002 there was non of this nonsense and drivers used to always be 4 wheels off the track at turn one. It's up to the FIA to ensure the track bites drivers that go wide or offline. If they haven't done that they are only making unnecessary work for themselves. It was fine 20 years ago, I don't see why it cannot be the same now. This track limits definition of a white line is entirely unnecessary.

[N. Jones]

Good race. I guess it is obvious this is Max's championship to lose.

[F1nKS]

I actually enjoyed the sprint race (mainly because it was wet and there was action). The main race was interesting also. A lot of action and battles going on up and down the grid to keep you engaged.

Just need the everybody to catch up to Red Bull.

[airshifter]

I'm tired of hearing about how unfair it is to have to stay between the lines , and how they feel it makes F1 look amateur .
Some drivers stayed in bounds all day .

It also feels a bit "icky" to hear them ratting each other out .
I suppose they must , though , if they are seeing breaches that the stewards are not .
The whining(not mentioning any names here) sounds really amateur .



Perhaps some sort of new track sensors or new overhead corner cameras could make white line policing easier for all involved .


If they can't keep up with the track limits violations, they should change either the track or put more resources on it. As for the drivers whining, let them whine. The best in the world should be able to avoid penalties, and most of them did. It's when they get away with it over and over that it becomes a problem. I'm also not a fan of allowing it on certain corners yet policing other corners. Though the argument is that there is no advantage gained in certain areas, if that was the case the drivers wouldn't frequently be there.

Apparently Alonso commented on being within 10 seconds of Sainz, so it appears that he knew further penalties would be incoming. Smart move, stay behind, don't push your luck, stay within that margin, and make sure the team follows up.


Overall the race was more interesting than I was expecting, mainly due to the strategy calls and the track limits penalties. But there was some good racing to be had as well. Good to see Ferrari make some progress, and fantastic to see Lando up in the top 4 in the McLaren. I think Merc will be back up there with AMR and Ferrari more often through the season, and if McLaren can continue to do well it should make for some good racing.