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The McLaren drivers had things all their way at Red Bull’s home track.
But while the MCL39 drivers put on an engrossing scrap for the lead, several of their pursuers produced performances which were no less impressive. Others were just downright cursed.
Here’s RaceFans’ verdict on the full field in the Austrian Grand Prix.
Lando Norris
Qualified: 1st (2 places ahead of team mate, -0.583s)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)Finished: 1st (1 place ahead of team mate)
▶ Missed FP1 as Alex Dunne drove his car but was immediately on the pace▲ One of his best qualifying performances for a while▲ Kept his lead at the start and resisted Piastri, calmly re-passing him▼ Went off at the last two corners under pressure from Piastri▶ Kept up his pace and navigated traffic effectively to keep out of reach of Piastri
8/10: Great in qualifying and handles Piastri well in the race
Oscar Piastri
Qualified: 3rd (2 places behind team mate, +0.583s)Start: +1 placeStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)Finished: 2nd (1 place behind team mate)
▶ Not quite on Norris’s pace but final attempt to beat him in Q3 was thwarted by yellow flags▲ Immediately passed Leclerc at the start▶ Tested Norris’s defences several times but almost hit him once▶ Opted to extend first stint hoping for a tyre advantage later▶ Lost time when Colapinto forced him off
7/10: Had the pace and opportunities to pass Norris but couldn’t make it stick
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Charles Leclerc
Qualified: 2nd (2 places ahead of team mate, -0.09s)Start: -1 placeStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)Finished: 3rd (1 place ahead of team mate)
▶ Sat out FP1 as Dino Begnovic drove his car▲ Capitalised on Ferrari’s upgrade and Piastri’s misfortune to take second on the grid▶ Couldn’t keep Piastri behind at the start and then had a lonely race to third
8/10: Strong weekend after sitting out first practice
Lewis Hamilton
Qualified: 4th (2 places behind team mate, +0.09s)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)Finished: 4th (1 place behind team mate)
▼ Received a warning for impeding in second practice▶ Closer to Leclerc’s pace in qualifying than usual▶ Swatted Russell away at the start of the race▶ Pace dropped on hard tyres so the one-stop he lobbied for wasn’t going to work
7/10: Looked like another step forward as he adjusts to Ferrari’s car
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Max Verstappen
Qualified: 7th (11 places ahead of team mate, -0.263s)Finished: Not classified
▶ Only two-tenths off the McLarens in final practice but slipped back in qualifying and foiled by yellow flag▶ Blamelessly taken out by Antonelli
7/10: A particularly difficult weekend to rate as everything went against him
Yuki Tsunoda
Qualified: 18th (11 places behind team mate, +0.263s)Start: +3 placesStrategy: Three-stop (M-H-M-S)Finished: 16th
▼ Closer to Verstappen than ever in terms of lap time but couldn’t avoid Q1 elimination▶ Passed Stroll but hit him, avoiding a penalty▼ Made heavier contact with Colapinto, received a penalty and had to replace his front wing▼ Finished two laps down in last place
2/10: Qualifying wasn’t quite as bad as it looked but his race was
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Qualified: 9th (4 places behind team mate, +0.192s)Finished: Not classified
▶ Denied a chance to start his final lap in Q3 due to traffic▼ Crashed into Verstappen at the start, putting both out.
4/10: Unlucky in qualifying but first lap mistake was serious
George Russell
Qualified: 5th (4 places ahead of team mate, -0.192s)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (M-M-H)Finished: 5th
▶ Fifth on the grid was likely the best available as his Mercedes dislikes high temperatures▶ Never looked like he had the pace to run in the top four▲ Passed Lawson and Alonso for fifth
7/10: Finishing a minute behind reflected more on the car than the driver
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Lance Stroll
Qualified: 16th (5 places behind team mate, +0.132s)Start: +3 placesStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-S)Finished: 14th (7 places behind team mate)
▼ Eliminated in Q1 again▶ Lost a place to Tsunoda▼ Did not have good pace in his first stint▼ Any hope of one-stopping ended when his hard tyres went off in his second stint
4/10: Seemed to take too much out of his tyres early in second stint
Fernando Alonso
Qualified: 11th (5 places ahead of team mate, -0.132s)Start: +1 placeStrategy: One-stop (M-H)Finished: 7th (7 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Narrowly failed to make the cut for Q3▶ Ran a long opening stint on mediums▲ Introduced his hard tyres carefully and ran a consistent stint on them▲ Came under severe pressure from Bortoleto at the end but held on for seventh
9/10: Appeared to maximise what the Aston Martin could do
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Franco Colapinto
Qualified: 14th (4 places behind team mate, +0.442s)Start: +3 placesStrategy: Two-stop (S-M-H)Finished: 15th (2 places behind team mate)
▼ Reached Q2 but admitted a mistake at turn three problem stopped him getting further▼ Passed early on by Bearman▼ Showed poor awareness by forcing Piastri off while being lapped▶ Said his car handled less well after Tsunoda knocked him into a spin
4/10: Both victim and culprit at times
Pierre Gasly
Qualified: 10th (4 places ahead of team mate, -0.442s)Start: +4 placesStrategy: Two-stop (S-H-M)Finished: 13th (2 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Missed out on a higher grid position in Q3 by over-committing at final corner▶ Took advantage of Verstappen-Antonelli collision to grab sixth at the start▼ Seemed to lack pace whichever tyre he was on▼ Passed by Albon in his first stint and the Haas pair in his second as he fell to 13th
6/10: Put his car in a competitive position but couldn’t capitalise
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Esteban Ocon
Qualified: 17th (2 places behind team mate, +0.146s)Start: +3 placesStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)Finished: 10th (1 place ahead of team mate)
▶ Felt he was unable to improve in the final corners after going out in Q1▲ Important first-stint pass on Stroll bought him clear air▲ Passed the Alpine drivers in his second stint▶ Ran out of time to catch Hulkenberg but claimed final point
7/10: Delivered in the race after qualifying disappointment
Oliver Bearman
Qualified: 15th (2 places ahead of team mate, -0.146s)Start: +3 placesStrategy: Two-stop (S-H-M)Finished: 11th (1 place behind team mate)
▲ Got more out of the Haas in qualifying than his team mate to reach Q2▲ Started on softs and passed Colapinto on the same tyres▼ Struggled in middle stint on hards and had to pit early▲ Did better on the mediums and passed Hadjar but his points chance was lost
6/10: One weak stint in the race allowed his team mate to overhaul him
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Isack Hadjar
Qualified: 13th (7 places behind team mate, +0.185s)Start: -3 placesStrategy: Two-stop (S-M-H)Finished: 12th (6 places behind team mate)
▼ Found it hard to improve his time in Q2 so missed the cut for the top 10▶ Got rid of his soft tyres under the Safety car for virtual one-stop strategy▼ His pace on the hard tyres went off earlier than Lawson’s and he was passed by the Sauber and Haas drivers
6/10: Behind his team mate this weekend for once
Liam Lawson
Qualified: 6th (7 places ahead of team mate, -0.185s)Start: -3 placesStrategy: One-stop (M-H)Finished: 6th (6 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Took an excellent sixth In qualifying after beating team mate to Q3▶ Bortoleto passed him at the start, Gasly and Albon also got ahead due to the turn three incident▲ Kept Alonso behind in his second stint
8/10: The kind of result he’s been crying out for
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Alexander Albon
Qualified: 12th (7 places ahead of team mate, -0.439s)Start: +5 placesStrategy: One-stop (M-M)Finished: Not classified
▲ Reached Q3 despite floor damage▶ Gained five places at the start largely due to the mess at turn three▶ Passed Gasly when the Alpine driver’s tyres start to fade▶ Retired with a technical problem shortly after his first pit stop
7/10: Did the best he could in qualifying, out of luck in the race
Carlos Sainz Jnr
Qualified: 19th (7 places behind team mate, +0.439s)Finished: Not classified
▶ Picked up floor damage in qualifying and was unable to progress beyond Q1.▶ Failed to take the start due to a technical problem.
6/10: His race was even more of a non-event than Verstappen’s
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Nico Hulkenberg
Qualified: 20th (12 places behind team mate, +0.483s)Start: +3 placesStrategy: Two-stop (S-M-M)Finished: 9th (1 place behind team mate)
▼ Had the pace to get out of Q1 but admitted he made a mistake▶ Pitted early which gained him places on Colaptino, Albon and Tsunoda▲ Passed Bearman and Gasly which bought him valuable clear air for his second stint▲ Lost no time passing Hadjar in his second stint as he out-ran Ocon for ninth
8/10: Made amends for qualifying slip with excellent recovery drive
Gabriel Bortoleto
Qualified: 8th (12 places ahead of team mate, -0.483s)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (M-M-H)Finished: 8th (1 place ahead of team mate)
▲ Looked confident from the word go and reached Q3 for the first time▶ Effectively lost a place due to the collision ahead of him at turn three on lap one▲ Got past Gasly when he needed to mid-race▶ Ran a two-stop strategy but couldn’t pass Alonso at the end on his fresher hard tyres
8/10: Great pace all weekend but should have taken seventh off Alonso
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