2024 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix Highlights

The 2024 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix is often one of the more exciting races of the season, and so it proved to be today, although the final result was mixed for Scuderia Ferrari HP. On the one hand, one can celebrate a return to the podium, thanks to a third place for Carlos Sainz, who drove a very solid race, while on the other, there’s a great disappointment for Charles Leclerc, who tried to stage an almost impossible recovery following a collision at the start.

The race. Carlos was passed by Lewis Hamilton for fourth place at the start, but the Englishman soon had to give back the position because he had made the passing move off the track in the run-off area. Charles’ race was immediately compromised when, at turn 1, he was squeezed between Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez, and he came off as the worst, having to pit to replace a damaged front wing. From then on, Charles pinned his hopes on a Safety Car that never came to let him close up on the field. His pace was the same as Carlos’s, and he only missed out on picking up a point when he finished eleventh. Carlos fought from start to finish in a close battle with George Russell, mostly scrapping for third place. At the most, the Mercedes driver had a five-second advantage, and after the last pit stop, when he rejoined on Hard tyres while Carlos was on Mediums, the gap grew gradually smaller, getting down to under 2 seconds on lap 66, just as out in front, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen collided, with both their cars sustaining damage. That provoked a Virtual Safety Car while debris was cleared off the track, and at the restart, the duel resumed, with Piastri now joining Sainz and Russell, the Australian on much fresher tyres. It meant he could pass the Ferrari for second place behind Russell. It was Carlos’ fifth podium finish of the season, the Scuderia’s tenth, which confirms Carlos’ fourth place in the Drivers’ championship, closing in on Norris and Charles, who came away from this event with just the two points from yesterday’s Sprint race. The team is still second in the Constructors’ standings.

Next stop, Silverstone. The World Championship barely stops for breath as the final race of this summer triple-header, the British Grand Prix, takes place at the historic Silverstone circuit this week.

Carlos Sainz #55

This P3 is a positive result and a good reward for us after the difficult start to the weekend. Yesterday, we worked hard to improve the car after the Sprint and had a better qualifying. Today was an eventful race, and our pace wasn’t bad. We were fighting with Mercedes for a place on the podium. Unfortunately, after the crash at the front, I couldn’t do much to keep the other McLaren behind as they’d been very fast here in Austria. All in all, a podium is a good result, and now we need to focus on ourselves to be able to fight at the front, which is where we want to be. All eyes are on Silverstone.

Charles Leclerc #16

Unfortunately, this was a weekend to forget as nothing went as it should. The collision on the opening lap obviously completely ruined my race. We were hoping for a Safety Car, but it didn’t come, and I lost time behind Lando (Norris) when I had fresh tyres and could have pushed more. The end result was that we couldn’t even score a point. Apart from Carlos’ podium, which brings us a good points haul in the Constructors’, the only positive aspect of the weekend is that we tried various set-up configurations, producing plenty of data for the team, which will be very important for the upcoming races. We will start working hard to put this race behind us tomorrow, starting this weekend at Silverstone.

Frédéric Vasseur – Team Principal

Today’s race gives us mixed feelings as it’s positive to be back on the podium with Carlos, who drove a solid race and brought home good points for the championship, but we didn’t score with Charles, who was involved in a racing incident at the start. So, all in all not a bad weekend even if there’s a bit of frustration as we probably could have done a better job especially at the beginning of it. We made a good step forward from Friday morning onwards, but it’s not enough, and we must continue to push as we need two cars fighting for maximum points at every race. Once again, we need to improve our qualifying pace, as starting nearer the front in such a tight field means having a better chance of finishing at the front, picking up opportunities and staying away from troubles. One final word on this weekend: to see such a close fight for the lead, with drivers pushing one another, eventually ending with an unexpected winner, while there were other equally exciting battles lower down the field, is definitely very good for the popularity of this sport.

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