Mercedes return to dominate, only Verstappen holds his own against the silver arrows. Hamilton fifth and Leclerc eighth
And the day came George Russell, indeed the perfect weekend for the English driver on the Mercedes: pole position on Saturday and victory in the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday with dominance from the first corner. Alone Max Verstappen stood up to him and threatened his lead, but in the end with the victory at the Red Bull Ring Russell as well as winning the second grand prix of the season overtakes Hamilton in the world drivers’ standings and moves within 40 points of Kimi Antonelli who still remains the leader. The Spielberg circuit confirmed the superiority of the Mercedes and Red Bull engines and the difficulties of Ferrari, thus dampening Maranello’s enthusiasm after the victory in Barcelona.
Red Disappointment
Instead neither Lewis Hamilton nor Charles Leclerc had the chance to really fight for victory. The illusions that had been fueled by the good times obtained in practice (second and third times) were not confirmed in the race. Charles Leclerc, who started second, finished the GP in eighth position, never comfortable with the car and in great difficulty right from the start, where he lost positions not only to Hamilton, but also to Verstappen and then to Antonelli. Better was Lewis, who, having started third, stopped in fifth position at the checkered flag, losing position to Antonelli and Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, but still not satisfied with the Austrian performance of Ferrari, which brought its first engine update of the season to the Red Bull Ring thanks to the unlocking of the Aduo mechanism. The SF-26 has no pace, it still suffers from a clear speed gap from Mercedes and it only works with red rubber: it seems like months have passed, and not 15 days, since Barcelona.
