A lot to learn from the Austrian Grand Prix. Main items included both Mercedes cars not finishing through mechanical maladies and no longer bullet proof, Renault engines going pop in a Renault, Daniel Ricciardo’s birthday cake had his candles blown out and Romaine Grosjean not only finished but well into the points while Kimi outscored Vettel both in Qualifying and the race.
This was the most interesting race so far this year, but with six non-finishers the teams are working flat out to correct the problems. With only one week between the French GP and the Austrian and the British GP this weekend there is very little time to fix anything.
The race began with Hamilton getting past Bottas at the first corner while Raikkonen (Ferrari) also squeezed in front of Bottas relegating him to third. By the third lap Kimi was wildly driving on and off the track trying to get past Hamilton, but to no avail.
Behind the leaders, there was much action and passing (at long last) but Renault’s Hulkenberg’s engine let go in a big way, followed by Bottas being forced to stop with gear selection hydraulics problems.
A Virtual Safety Car period produced almost every car dashing into the pits as the tyres were not lasting in the heat. Red Bull and Ferrari even double stacking their cars, but Mercedes did not, as their strategist felt Hamilton could safely continue. Unfortunately for Mercedes he was wrong, leaving a petulant Hamilton complaining loudly, not that it mattered for his car sputtered to a stop when the fuel pump failed on lap 62.
The next big mover to fail to continue to proceed was Birthday Boy Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) with another Renault engine failure. This left Verstappen (Red Bull) in front of the two Ferraris, who by clever driving managed to keep his blistered rear tyres intact and run to the finish and top step of the podium, clear of Kimi and Vettel.
Grosjean (Haas) finished in 4th with his team mate Magnussen behind him. The two FIndias (Ocon and Perez) were next with Alonso, once again, dragging the hopeless McLaren into an 8th. The Sauber renaissance continues with Leclerc and Ericsson last two in the points.
By this stage, the teams are looking to who should fill the 2019 seats. It would seem that Raikkonen and Grosjean could miss the guillotine after all, but Hartley is a doubtful starter for next year.
Results
1 M Verstappen Red Bull
2 K Raikkonen Ferrari
3 S Vettel Ferrari
4 R Grosjean Haas – 70 laps
5 K Magnussen Haas – 70 laps
6 E Ocon Force India – 70 laps
7 S Perez Force India – 70 laps
8 F Alonso McLaren – 70 laps
9 C Leclerc Sauber – 70 laps
10 M Ericsson Sauber – 70 laps
11 P Gasly Toro Rosso – 70 laps
12 C Sainz Renault – 70 laps
13 L Stroll Williams – 69 laps
14 S Sirotkin Williams – 69 laps
Did not finish:
S Vandoorne McLaren Gearbox – 65 laps
L Hamilton Mercedes Fuel pressure – 62 laps
B Hartley Toro Rosso suspension – 54 laps
D Ricciardo Red Bull Engine – 53 laps
V Bottas Mercedes Hydraulics – 13 laps
N Hulkenberg Renault Engine – 11 laps
