Was Ferrari’s Spanish Grand Prix triumph a sign Mercedes face some real competition this year? What have McLaren cooked up for this weekend?
Here are six talking points for this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Is the Ferrari threat real?
While there’s no doubt the Virtual Safety Car played a significant part in Lewis Hamilton’s victory in Spain the week before last, it was also clear Ferrari have made some significant gains with their SF-26. They already appeared to have a well-sorted chassis, and their Catalunya upgrade was well-timed as F1 embarked on a series of races at ‘classic’ permanent road courses.
Ferrari is expected to introduce an engine upgrade this weekend. This comes after the FIA, through its Additional Development Upgrade Opportunity rules, determined Ferrari is among the manufacturers which deserve extra opportunities to improve their combustion engine.
After the opening rounds indicated the season would be a Mercedes benefit, Catalunya gave an encouraging sign they won’t have things all their own way after all. This weekend will reveal how accurate that impression was.
Can Leclerc rebound?
Although Ferrari have enjoyed a strong run of late courtesy of Hamilton, it’s been a tough spell for his team mate Charles Leclerc. Crashes in the closing stages in Monaco and Q3 in Catalunya wrecked both weekends.
Though Leclerc’s pace is not in doubt, he has proved susceptible to such mistakes in the past, especially when the stakes are highest. Having been wrong-footed by the recent change in braking equipment at Ferrari, he needs to show he has the situation under control this weekend.
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McLaren to join the flip-wing club?
McLaren’s technical director for applied engineering Neil Houdley revealed ahead of this weekend’s race the team will have a noteworthy upgrade in Austria. “For this event, we’ve focused on minor detail updates around the car’s rear corners, as well as an experimental rear wing that will run throughout Friday’s sessions,” he said.
Have the team cooked up their answer to the ‘flipping’ moveable wing designs Ferrari and Red Bull have already raced? Have they produced their own variation on the design? And will they commit to using it after practice?
As a high proportion of the Red Bull Ring is Straight Mode zones, the team will be hoping to see positive results from their Friday running.
Mercedes’ reliability worries
Both works Mercedes drivers have now suffered race-ending power unit failures. Customer team McLaren have also been plagued with problems.
The manufacturer believes its incoming specification of battery should go some way towards improving the situation. But how quickly they will arrive and how big a difference they will make remains to be seen.
Stewards coming up short
While the fall-out from the Monaco Grand Prix pit lane farce rumbles on, the last round highlighted more problems in the steward’s office. Andrea Kimi Antonelli should have received a five-second time penalty ahead of his final pit stop, which would have changed the complexion of the final laps, at least before his retirement.
The Monaco problem may prove to be a one-off but Antonelli’s infringement was that recurring problem F1 has made progress with in recent years: track limits. The Red Bull Ring, scene of this weekend’s race, used to be a major trouble-spot for it, but run-off changes have improved matters in recent years. Hopefully that remains the case this weekend.
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Antonelli’s first setback
Notwithstanding the penalty he never received (which does not carry over to this weekend), Antonelli again seemed to have the beating of his team mate and championship rival at the last round. He passed George Russell one lap before his battery failed.
Was this a fair reflection of the balance of power between the two of them? Antonelli should have been five seconds further back with his penalty. But, he likely could have avoided the penalty without losing significant time to Russell. However, Russell was also delayed by an incorrect front wing adjustment at his final pit stop.
All of which tends towards the conclusion that it’s as close as you like between the title-contending Mercedes team mates, and surely a lot closer than Russell hoped it would be in Antonelli’s second season.
Are you going to the Austrian Grand Prix?
If you’re heading to Austria for this weekend’s race, we want to hear from you:
Who do you think will be the team to beat in the Austrian Grand Prix? Have your say below.
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