For the opening laps of Saturday’s F1 Sprint Race at the Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen’s rear-view mirrors matched the color that filled the grandstands at the Red Bull Ring.
A whole lot of orange.
That orange in Verstappen’s rear-view mirrors, of course, was the color of both Oscar Piastri’s MCL38 and that of Piastri’s teammate, Lando Norris. Over the first few laps of the race Norris was right on Verstappen’s rear wing, and the British driver managed to overtake Verstappen for the lead.
But only for a moment, because Verstappen took the lead back, and the battle between the two friends opened the door for Piastri to execute his attack, and when the dust settled it was Verstappen up in P1, with Piastri in second ahead of his teammate Norris:
And that is how the field finished, with Verstappen pulling away from the two McLarens at the end to capture victory in the F1 Sprint at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Verstappen once again handled the challenges that the field offered up to him, specifically the dual MCL38s of Piastri and Norris, fending them off as he has done so many times before throughout his already legendary Formula 1 career. His effort on Saturday showed that Verstappen remains in control when it comes to the Drivers’ Championship, as he gained two more points on Norris, his closest challenger.
But when it comes to the Constructors’ Championship, as we will discuss in a moment this was a solid session for McLaren. Verstappen and Red Bull remain the favorites in that fight as well, but the Woking-based team is coming, and coming fast. As Norris noted when speaking trackside with Alex Wurz, they could have even more for Red Bull on Sunday. “We’re there, and we can definitely give them a fight tomorrow,” said Norris after the F1 Sprint Race.
Whether Verstappen and Red Bull can fend them off in that Constructors’ fight is a much more open question.
Here are some quick winners and losers, as well as the full results, from Saturday’s F1 Sprint Race at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Winners: McLaren
Lando Norris led Saturday’s F1 Sprint Race for a brief moment, but the big points are handed out on Sunday.
And given where McLaren finished today — with Piastri in second and Norris behind him in third — the team is primed for an even bigger Grand Prix after what Norris called a “good load of points” in the F1 Sprint Race.
Norris’ late lunge by Verstappen will give his friend and budding rival a lot to think about in the overnight hours, which could create even more opportunities should the two lock horns again in the Grand Prix. But perhaps more importantly for McLaren is the fact that both Norris and Piastri demonstrated impressive race pace throughout the F1 Sprint on Saturday. Getting both Piastri and Norris on the podium saw McLaren add another 13 points to their account, inching them closer to both Ferrari and Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship.
Piastri noted that haul when speaking with Alex Wurz trackside after the sprint. “Yeah, some things to look out for this afternoon and for tomorrow’s race, but we’ll definitely take the points,” described Piastri. “A really good haul compared to the other teams around us.”
All told, the 13 points for McLaren moved them four points closer to Red Bull in the Constructors’ standings, and seven points closer to second-place Ferrari. Those might not seem like massive numbers — and again the big points are handed on on Sunday — but in an F1 season that is looking tighter than ever, every single point counts.
Losers: Alpine
Both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly advanced to SQ3, and after a failure for Charles Leclerc in the closing minutes of that segment of F1 Sprint Qualifying, both Alpine drivers qualified ahead of Leclerc, putting Alpine in a position for points on Saturday.
They saw the session end without anything to show for their effort.
Both Alpines were shuffled back in the order, with Ocon coming across the line 11th and Gasly behind him in 12th. That might signal that when it comes to longer runs and race pace, Alpine still has some questions to answer.
In addition, there were a few close calls between the teammates as they wound around Red Bull Ring, moments that probably saw Team Principal Bruno Famin’s heart rate spike a bit, given what happened at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix just a few short weeks ago.
Those moments also led to the producers on F1TV cutting to Famin watching on … with Jack Doohan alongside him.
Make of that what you will.
Winner: Charles Leclerc
Starting tenth was not the way Charles Leclerc wanted to begin his F1 Sprint Race.
But given where he began, finishing seventh — and inside the points — was an impressive performance.
During the third segment of qualifying for the F1 Sprint Race on Friday, Leclerc’s SF-24 went into anti-stall along pit lane, costing him precious moments as the seconds ticked down. Leclerc was able to get his car rolling and onto the circuit, but he could not post a lap in time, and as a result, started outside the points on Saturday.
Despite that, Leclerc rocketed off the line after the lights went out, picking up multiple spots to work inside the top eight. Among those he was able to overtake? Sergio Pérez in the RB20.
That might speak volumes about what we see on Sunday.
As for what we might see this afternoon, however, a seemingly frustrated Leclerc hinted at some more aggression regarding the upcoming qualifying session:
Friday was another positive session, with more evidence of progress, for Alpine.
Amidst the picturesque backdrop provided by the Styrian mountains, 20 Formula 1 cars roared to life on Friday at Red Bull Ring, as qualifying for tomorrow’s F1 Sprint Race was on the schedule. Once again Alpine saw both Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon advance into the third and final segment of qualifying, as both drivers moved out of SQ2 and into SQ3.
While thoughts of an even bigger surprise were quashed there, as Ocon qualified eighth and Gasly ninth, the result was hailed by the team as even more evidence that they are making progress this F1 season.
“I’m happy to have reached SQ3 today and starting in eighth place for tomorrow,” said Ocon in the team’s post-session media report. “Again, we reached the top ten in Qualifying as a team, which is another good performance. SQ3 was far from straightforward as we were at the back of the queue.
“We probably got a little fortunate with Charles [Leclerc] missing the flag at the end and gained a position as a result,” added Ocon. “Even so, the positive is we performed well and we are in a good position in the Sprint Race. We still have work to do and things to understand but it’s pleasing to be heading in a good direction.”
Leclerc’s SF-24 stopped on pit lane with just minutes remaining in SQ3 and while the Ferrari driver was able to get it started and onto the track, he could not post a time during SQ3 and will start the F1 Sprint Race in P10.
On the other side of the garage, Gasly pointed to the improved pace from the A524 as a “good sign” for tomorrow.
“It was a good Sprint Qualifying for the team overall today with both cars reaching SQ3,” described Gasly, who earlier this week announced a new “multi-year” deal with Alpine. “We managed SQ1 and SQ2 well, showed good pace and we progressed through both sessions. We certainly did not [maximize] SQ3. It was a messy one and I did not get a proper push lap. These are things we will review as we always aim to [maximize] all sessions and get the most from it.
“Even so, we had good pace again today – that is pleasing – and again we are inside the top ten. Those cars ahead of us are quick and only the top eight score in the Sprint Race tomorrow. It will not be easy to pick up points but we will try our best and see what we can achieve.”
Thanks to their recent form — Alpine has picked up six points over the last two race weekends — the team has climbed to seventh in the Constructors’ Championship. Coming into the Austrian Grand Prix one of the major storylines was whether Alpine could keep that recent run of form going.
Following the checkered flag in SQ3, it looked as if McLaren had locked out the front row. Oscar Piastri put his MCL38 on provisional pole with a banger of a lap, only to see Lando Norris nip him with a thunderous lap of his own.
But on the track, Max Verstappen was looming.
The Dutch driver was screaming around Red Bull Ring, pushing his RB20 to the ultimate edge. And as he cut the line with his own final push lap in SQ3, you did not need to look at the timing boards to see the result.
You just needed to hear the crowd.
The Red Bull-friendly crowd roared to life as Verstappen’s lap rocketed him to the top of the timing sheets, securing yet another pole position for one of the sport’s greatest drivers. The sea of orange in the crowd roared to life, and the orange flares overcame the mass of humanity watching on.
Their hero had done it yet again.
”Everything has been working really well. Good start to the weekend, I’m happy with today,” said Verstappen to Davide Valsecchi trackside.
Asked about the threat Norris could pose, Verstappen was his usual calm, cool, and collected self.
“I mean, we’ll find out tomorrow,” began Verstappen. “I’m not really too stressed about it. I’m gonna enjoy my eventing and we’ll try it again tomorrow.”
And if today’s performance from Verstappen is any indication, he might enjoy his day tomorrow as well.
Here are more winners and losers from F1 Sprint Qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix, as well as the full results:
Winner: Logan Sargeant
Logan Sargeant was eventually eliminated in SQ2 and will start the F1 Sprint Race in P15. In addition, what might have been a lap that put him into SQ3 was deleted due to exceeding track limits. “I didn’t get T1 and T3 right,” admitted Sargeant after SQ2.
But this was still a win for the American driver, who is facing a very uncertain future in the sport.
Sargeant advanced into SQ2, ahead of teammate Alexander Albon. It was the first time in his F1 career that he qualified ahead of Albon, marking a personal achievement for the Williams driver.
This might not be enough to save Sargeant’s spot at Williams, given the speculation about options such as Carlos Sainz Jr. for the team starting in 2025, but this could be a sign that Sargeant is continuing to improve his racecraft. Performances such as this could see Sargeant emerge as an option elsewhere if Williams truly moves in a different direction for 2025 as is expected.
Loser: Daniel Ricciardo
Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
With the caveat that this is just F1 Sprint Qualifying and the big points are still to come this weekend, if you are Daniel Ricciardo this is not how you want the week to start.
The Austrian Grand Prix began with rumors swirling regarding Ricciardo’s future in the sport, with Dr. Helmut Marko outlining how the command could come from on high to put Liam Lawson into a seat at Visa Cash App RB F1 Team and noted F1 journalist Joe Saward speculating that such a move could happen this summer. That led to Ricciardo himself addressing his uncertain future during media day Thursday, with an acknowledgment that he needed improved performance to solidify his spot at VCARB.
Being eliminated in SQ1 — and seeing Yuki Tsunoda advance into SQ2 — is not the start to the weekend you want if you are Ricciardo.
Again, there is a lot of time left on the track this weekend, and the big points start coming on Saturday with qualifying for the Grand Prix. But Ricciardo needs to step up his game if he is going to keep his spot, something the driver himself admitted on Thursday.
Winners: Alpine
The progress continues over at Alpine.
Yet again both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly advanced into the final segment of qualifying, with both drivers moving into SQ3 on Friday. While both Alpine drivers finished at the back of that group — with Ocon set to start the F1 Sprint Race in P8 and Gasly back in P9 — it is another sign that the team is moving in the right direction.
Sure, you can point to the fact that the only driver they beat in SQ3 was Charles Leclerc, who did not post a time due to a stall on pit lane shortly before the session ended, but you can also point to how close Ocon was to Sergio Pérez on merit. The Red Bull driver posted a 1:06.008 in SQ3, while Ocon posted a 1:06.101.
That is not a large margin at all.
Alpine has been talking about progress for weeks now, starting with their first point of the season at the Miami Grand Prix. But the progress is truly taking shape with their recent results, as they scored double-points finishes in each of the last two weekends. Given where Ocon and Gasly start tomorrow, they have a chance to keep that streak alive.
Something unimaginable when the season began, given how they started the 2024 campaign.
Loser: Charles Leclerc
Generally speaking, you want to put in your best push lap at the absolute end of a session, because the track will have “rubbered in” as much as possible, leading to the best possible time.
That led to an amusing situation during SQ3 as the session began, and the final ten waited in their respective garages. As the clock ticked down, some drivers, such as George Russell, started to get impatient, with Russell saying to his team “we need to get on with it” before the session came to a close.
Eventually the ten drivers lumbered out of the garage, but unfortunately for Charles Leclerc, his SF-24 went through an anti-stall as he rode down pit lane. While Leclerc was able to get his car going again, he could not get his push lap started before the checkered flag flew, and he ended up not posting a time.
That means he will start the F1 Sprint Race down in P10.
Leclerc can still make up some spots on the grid in the F1 Sprint Race itself, and perhaps salvage a result on Saturday. But he will be fighting at the back end of the points to start, and not up front where he wanted to be.
Winners: McLaren
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images
Following the Monaco Grand Prix, it looked as if the potential fight at the top of the Constructors’ Championship was a two-way fight between Red Bull and Ferrari.
Since then, McLaren has crashed the party.
And then some.
Friday’s F1 Sprint Qualifying session showed again that McLaren has true pace this season, and for a moment it looked as if the front row would be all orange when the F1 Sprint Race began tomorrow. Lando Norris was on provisional pole, with Oscar Piastri right beside him.
As he has done so many times before Max Verstappen answered that challenge, rocketing to the top of the timing sheets, but when the lights go out tomorrow two McLarens will be at the front once more, with a chance to bring home some critical points in that three-way fight.
Furthermore, given where Ferrari finds themselves on the grid for tomorrow’s Sprint Race, McLaren has a chance to pull even closer to the Scuderia in the standings.
Zooming out for a moment, the pace from the MCL38 we have seen today illustrates that yet again, Norris could be primed to challenge Verstappen in the Austrian Grand Prix itself. That story has yet to be told, and tomorrow’s Qualifying session could provide more twists and turns, but McLaren has certainly put themselves in the mix given their recent form, and today’s F1 Sprint Qualifying session is just the latest evidence of that fact.
Losers: Sauber
The tough times roll on for Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
Both drivers were eliminated in SQ1 on Friday, with Bottas finishing P18 and Zhou at the back of the field, in P20.
Sauber is still seeking their first point of the 2024 F1 season, and given where they are set to start the F1 Sprint Race on Saturday, it seems apparent that the first result will not come in that event.
More worrisome might be the lack of pace they showed in both SQ1 as well as Friday’s only practice session, which saw Zhou in P14 and Bottas in P15. That was not enough to get them into SQ2, and that pace could see them struggle again in qualifying for the Grand Prix itself.
In an announcement ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix the team made it clear: Lance Stroll was not going anywhere. While there was every expectation that Stroll would be back for 2025, and the driver himself hinted at a new deal recently, the announcement came Thursday that Stroll would be back for 2025 “and beyond” on a new multi-year extension.
The news means Aston Martin’s lineup for 2025 will be unchanged, given the previous announcement of an extension for Fernando Alonso.
“I’m super happy to have committed to staying with the team for 2025 and beyond,” said Stroll in the announcement. “It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come in the last five years; we’ve grown so much as a team and there’s still so much more to look forward to.”
“We are delighted to confirm Lance’s future with Aston Martin Aramco. He has played a key role in building this team. His technical feedback, alongside his committed simulator work, has helped contribute to the continuous development of the car each season,” added Team Principal Mike Krack.
“The consistency and stability of both Lance and Fernando remaining with our team is a great platform to continue to realise our ambitions. We look forward to creating some more incredible memories and achieving further success together.”
The news comes as Aston Martin is looking to improve their form following a slow start to the 2024 Formula 1 season. While they were the darlings of the paddock as the year began in 2023, providing an early threat to Red Bull, Aston Martin is currently fifth in the Constructors’ Championship standings, 93 points adrift of fourth-place Mercedes.
Fifth is where they finished last season, after their promising start.
Could Liam Lawson be headed back to the Formula 1 grid for the 2025 season?
According to recent comments from Red Bull Senior Advisor Dr. Helmut Marko, that could indeed be the case, leaving veteran driver Daniel Ricciardo on the outside looking in.
Speaking with Austrian outlet Kleine Zeitungahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, Marko indicated that a move in a younger direction at Visa Cash App RB F1 Team may be coming down from on high. “The shareholders have made it clear that [VCARB] is a junior team and we have to act accordingly,” said the Red Bull advisor.
That could very well mean that Ricciardo is out, and Lawson is in, for 2025.
“The aim was for Ricciardo to qualify for a return to Red Bull Racing with exceptional performances. That seat now belongs to Sergio Perez, so that plan is off the table. We will have to put in a young driver soon,” continued Marko. “That would be Liam Lawson.”
The comments come not only days ahead of the F1 Austrian Grand Prix, but a week after Ricciardo himself indicated that he wanted to “earn” his spot at VCARB for next season. Speaking at the FIA Press Conference in Barcelona ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, Ricciardo said that “I also said, I think, before the weekend in Canada that, you know, I obviously want to earn it … I obviously want to be here because I know that I still belong here and can do can do performances like I did last week. So it’s also up to me just to make sure that I can keep pulling it out. And in that case, then I’ll be very happy to stay.”
However, the orders form shareholders referred to by Marko, as well as a clause in Lawson’s contract that allows him to seek a seat elsewhere and leave Red Bull if he does not have a ride with the team, could force the organization’s hand. With the 2025 driver lineup remaining unsettled and a number of open seats available on the grid, Lawson could find more than a few potential suitors for next year should VCARB decide to retain Ricciardo.
What might that mean for Ricciardo if this is indeed the path Red Bull and VCARB take? As noted above there are still available seats for 2025, and Ricciardo remains a marketable driver with a resume that includes Grand Prix victories and recent strong performances at both VCARB and AlphaTauri a season ago. If that is not enough to keep him at VCARB, could it be enough for another team to give him a shot for next year?
Update: And now there is even more fuel to the “Lawson to VCARB” fire, with longtime and respected F1 journalist Joe Saward indicating that Lawson could be in Ricciardo’s seat before the end of the season.
Before the end of the summer, in fact:
So, Lawson will be in for Ricciardo at some point. I’d guess the end of July…
As has been argued here and elsewhere, Lando Norris’ frustration following his second-place finish in last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix told us not just the story of one singular race, but rather the entire 2024 Formula 1 season.
A year ago in Barcelona, Max Verstappen cruised to a 24-second victory ahead of Lewis Hamilton, and the strength of the RB19 was evident in the closing stages of that race. After being given repeated warnings for exceeding track limits, Verstappen had such an advantage on the track that he felt confident enough to post the fastest lap of the race in the closing stages, prompting another legendary request from his race engineer, Gianpietro Lambiase. “Ok,” quipped the engineer known as GP, “now can you bring it home within the white lines?”
Last Sunday in Barcelona was a much different story. Verstappen needed to overtake George Russell — after the Mercedes driver’s stunning double overtake on the opening lap — to get into the lead. And while the Red Bull champion enjoyed an eight-second advantage over Norris in the final act of the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix, the McLaren driver not only got that down to two seconds in the closing laps, but he felt that he had the fastest car, and should have won.
F1 this season is a whole new ballgame.
Teams like McLaren, Ferrari, and perhaps even Mercedes have closed the gap to Red Bull, putting the defending Constructors’ Champions — and Verstappen himself — under pressure. Of course, putting Red Bull and Verstappen under pressure is one thing, but getting that well-oiled machine to crack under stress is another. On a Sunday in Barcelona, Red Bull answered that call, fending off the field for another victory.
But will that be the case this weekend in Austria?
Speaking on Sunday night following the Miami Grand Prix Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur told the assembled media, including SB Nation, that teams were now able to put some pressure on Red Bull at the front, which could be a “game changer” for the season.
“What is true is that compared to one year ago when we are able to do a good job and to put everything together, we are there, it means that we are putting [Red Bull] a little bit under pressure. They have to take to be a bit more aggressive with the strategy,” started Vasseur in Miami.
“They are not anymore in the comfort zone of last year when last year that doesn’t matter what’s happened after lap two, they were in front and it’s, I think it’s a game changer in the management of the race,” added Vasseur.
“And this, it’s an opportunity for us because that if we are doing another small step, I think that we will be really in a position to fight with them every single weekend.”
That fight continues this weekend, and is one of many storylines to watch.
Have race organizers truly solved the track limits issue?
F1 fans will recall the three most common words used during the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix.
“Track limits exceed.”
Consider these numbers from last year:
During qualifying alone, 47 laps were deleted due to “exceeding track limits,” resulting in a shaken-up field and lots of angry drivers, teams, and fans. Then in the Grand Prix itself a number of drivers were hit with penalties for exceeding track limits, and it even led to a post-race protest from Aston Martin, inquiring whether all the appropriate penalties were levied.
That protest was upheld, and even more drivers were hit with penalties hours after the race concluded. An additional 12 penalties were handed out to 8 drivers, and race officials noted that they still were unable to review all 1,200 potential incidents of exceeding track limits.
Those numbers prompted not just drivers, but prominent figures within the sport to wonder if changes needed to be made at the Red Bull Ring. “The problem is it’s very difficult for the drivers because they can’t see the white line from the car so you’re just purely doing it on feel and the circuit invites you to go there,” said Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner, speaking before the post-race penalties were announced last season. “So I think that it’s something that needs to be looked at for next year to perhaps add more of a deterrent for the drivers to be drawn onto that part of the circuit.”
Now, it seems that that deterrent has been added.
As was reported by Race Fans last year the FIA requested race organizers to install gravel traps at the circuit, focusing on Turns 9 and 10. “In order to address the issue for future events we will renew our recommendation to the circuit to add a gravel trap at the exit of turns nine and 10,” said a spokesperson from FIA to RaceFans last season. “We note that while this is not a straightforward solution in relation to other series that race here, it has proved to be very effective at other corners and circuits with similar issues.”
On Tuesday images surfaced of new gravel traps at the circuit, indeed in the vicinity of Turn 10:
Will these gravel traps solve the issue? That might be difficult to accomplish, given the size of Red Bull Ring. Measuring in at just over 4.3 kilometers and with only ten corners, the circuit is one of the smallest on the calendar. While every millisecond counts in F1, that is especially true in Austria, particularly in qualifying. Consider what Logan Sargeant told me about track limits earlier this season:
“Yeah, the ones that drive me crazy are the, ‘[j]ust keep it on [the track]’ like when we’re talking about track limits,” said Sargeant. “And then you look at Bahrain and first through 20th in Q1 is covered by eight tenths.
“Especially when you’re on the back end of that [lap], trying to make it through Q1 and you’re always on the cusp. Imagine, you know, leaving a bit of time on the table can shuffle you down two or three positions if you’re too safe and then when you add the tires overheating through the lap, the wind gusting and changing throughout the lap. Even just having a slight slipstream from the car had completely changes the corner,” added Sargeant. “You know, I think so much more goes into completing a lot than people realize and also being able to keep it within the white lines and still getting the most out of it. It’s a lot more complex than just, you know, ‘keep it within the white lines.’
“There’s, there’s so many variables and, I think people forget that a lot.”
The presence of the traps might help, but expect to hear those three words often this weekend.
Are we witnessing a Mercedes bounceback?
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images
A year ago McLaren delivered a stunning turnaround, rocketing up the standings following a dismal start to the season. In many ways, that turnaround began in Austria a year ago, when a fourth-place finish from Norris banked 12 points for the team.
They entered the Austrian Grand Prix last year with 17 points to their name, tallied throughout eight race weekends.
Are we seeing something similar from Mercedes?
The Silver Arrows got out to a slow start of their own this season, but have certainly shown progress in recent weeks. A series of upgrades the team began to roll out back in Miami have delivered improved performance on the track, and the team is coming off their two best race weekends of the year. In Montreal, they captured their first pole position of the season, thanks to a strong performance from George Russell, and Russell’s P3 gave the team their first Grand Prix podium of the year, to go with a P4 from Lewis Hamilton. (Hamilton notched a podium with his P2 in the F1 Sprint Race at the Chinese Grand Prix back in April).
Last week in Barcelona, the team enjoyed another strong weekend, locking out the second row in both qualifying and the Grand Prix, with Hamilton finishing third and Russell fourth.
Progress has certainly come to Brackley, as well as perhaps the next great F1 meme above. But can they keep this momentum rolling in the Austrian hills?
Frustration at Ferrari
On the other end of the spectrum, we find the Scuderia.
Back at the end of May Ferrari was on a roll. Charles Leclerc finally broke through with a win in his home race, capturing the Monaco Grand Prix. Add in a P3 from teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. — and only eight points for Red Bull on the weekend thanks to a DNF from Sergio Pérez and a P6 from Verstappen — and Ferrari moved 32 points closer to Red Bull atop the Constructors’ Championship standings.
As the grid shifted to Montreal the Scuderia trailed Red Bull by just 24 points, and the talk of a true title fight was on.
Thoughts of a title fight remain, but Ferrari has not helped themselves in recent weeks. A disastrous Canadian Grand Prix for the team saw the team leave Montreal without any points to show for their efforts, and with Leclerc finishing fifth in Barcelona, and Sainz sixth, they have seen Red Bull pull away from them a bit in the standings. Currently, Ferrari sits 60 points behind Red Bull, the gap having more than doubled in recent weeks.
And while Ferrari would love to look ahead, McLaren is now just 33 points behind them, having cut their 68-point deficit to Ferrari following the Monaco Grand Prix by over half.
Here’s what that movement looks like in graphic form, thanks to our friends at Formula1Points:
If you are listing teams in the field that need a bounce-back performance in Austria, Ferrari might just top the list.
What about the back of the pack?
Returning to our friends at Formula1Points, if you look at the standings at the back of the F1 field you might see something interesting:
Alpine? We owe you an apology, we were not really familiar with your game.
Okay, so perhaps apologies are not in order, but it is certainly noteworthy that the team backmarker team having the most success over the past two race weekends is the French-based outfit. While Visa Cash App RB F1 Team managed to leave Montreal with four points thanks to an eighth-place finish from Daniel Ricciardo, back-to-back double-points results from Alpine has seen them add six points to their account, as opposed to the four from VCARB.
Which has seen Alpine climb to seventh in the Constructors’ Championship standings.
Can Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly keep Alpine’s momentum going in Austria? Can VCARB deliver a bounce-back performance of their own? Will Sauber finally break through with points? What about Haas and Williams, can they shock the field in the Austrian hills?
Driver news?
Here is one last storyline as the grid heads to Red Bull Ring.
Is this the week we finally — mercifully? — hear news about Carlos Sainz’s future?
Rumors flew through the paddock as well as the entire F1 world that an announcement on where Sainz would land for 2025 was imminent. Even drivers such as Kevin Magnussen, who is facing his own uncertain F1 future, pointed to Sainz as the “cork in the bottle” regarding the 2025 driver market. But a wrench was thrown into those plans in the form of Flavio Briatore, who recently joined Alpine as an advisor and reportedly made a last-ditch effort to woo Sainz to the French team for next season.
Those talks likely bore little fruit, given yesterday’s news that both Mick Schumacher and Jack Doohan were set to test for Alpine in the coming days, meaning that we may finally hear from Sainz on where his F1 story will be written next.
You could feel the pain and disappointment with every answer, every gesture, and every word.
Lando Norris believes his second Formula 1 victory was there for the taking Sunday in Barcelona, but he let it slip through his grasp.
Norris began Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix in P1, thanks to a masterful final lap during Saturday’s qualifying session that was just fast enough to snatch pole position from his friend and rival Max Verstappen. It was a lap that Norris himself described as both “perfect,” and “balls out.”
But in a flash Sunday, that slim lead over Verstappen evaporated. The Red Bull driver got off to a quicker start off the line and Norris was shuffled back to P2 almost immediately. He lost another spot soon thereafter, as George Russell pulled off a masterful double overtake to pass both Norris and Verstappen, sliding Norris back to third.
The McLaren driver was forced into comeback mode and nearly pulled it off, closing an eight-second gap to Verstappen in P1 down to just under two seconds as the checkered flag flew. But as he told the story Sunday afternoon in Barcelona, it was a tale of a driver who believes he let his team down.
“The race, not good enough, simply because we should have won today,” began Norris in the post-race FIA Press Conference.
“I think we had the quickest car. But I just lost it at the start, you know, and then I couldn’t get past George for the first stint. I think we were quite easily best car out there today,” continued Norris. “I just didn’t do a good enough job off the line. And then that one thing cost me everything. So from Turn 2 onwards, 10 out of 10, I don’t think I could have done much more. And I think as a team, we did the perfect strategy. And I was very happy with what we did. But yeah, the one part at the start, the 1% elsewhere wasn’t good enough.”
Norris faced one of the toughest challenges the F1 calendar offers, as the run from the start/finish line to Turn 1 in Barcelona is the longest the drivers face all year. That meant Verstappen was positioned to get a big run off the line into Turn 1, and Norris was tasked with fending the champion off.
As Norris described the start, his initial launch was good, but the “second phase” of the race was where it went wrong.
“No, I mean, my initial launch, I think, was better than Max. The second phase, the drive out, was not as good. I don’t know. I don’t know anything more than that, apart from Max got alongside me,” described Norris. “And let’s say, if George wasn’t there, I think I still could have kept on to first around Turn 1.
“But George had a run on both of us, so even if my start was one or two [meters] better, which I think was all I probably could have done, just the long run down to Turn 1, the slipstream from the Mercedes, on both Max and myself, was more than anything that I could have done. I almost think George would have led no matter what, even if my start was two [meters] better.
“In some ways, that’s what happens in Barcelona. George got a good start and I couldn’t do anything about that. I settled in. I had to take third in Turn 2 because if I break two metres later, I think I would have taken everyone out with me. I made the correct decision of backing out and letting George have it. I don’t know. I need to sit down with my engineers and talk.”
Norris’ anguish mirrored comments he made in Montreal when he also finished second behind Verstappen. Only this time, according to the driver, he truly had the fastest car.
But not the corresponding win to show for it.
“We were definitely not the quickest car in Montreal. Mercedes was easily the quickest car. But today, we were the quickest. We had the best car. I had the best car out there,” said Norris. “And I didn’t [maximize] it. The start’s down to me. doing what I get told and executing that. And without that, or with a good start, we easily should have won.”
Despite Norris’ anguish at the result and his self-perceived failure at winning Sunday, he began to look ahead to Austria, a track that has been good to him in the past.
“I mean, I’m confident. every weekend we go into now, the car’s performing extremely well. We’re always there or thereabouts within a couple of tenths of pole, and that’s all we can ask for,” concluded Norris. “I think we need to bring something a little bit more just to make our life a bit easier. It’s close, and now we have, what, four teams who I think can easily fight for pole positions and fight for wins, potentially. So it’s a very different layout again. High speed, I think we have a bit to work on, comparing to Red Bull. Red Bull seem definitely a bit higher, better in high speed corners than we are. Potentially we’re lacking a touch in that area but the rest of it is strong.
“It’s been one of my best tracks in terms of my own competitiveness and my most successful tracks so excited to see all the papaya and the grandstands and have a good weekend.”
Norris may be feeling despair at the moment, lamenting a win that got away from him. But his second-place finish saw him move to second in the Drivers’ Championship, passing Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc in the standings.
It might not be enough to ease the pain he felt Sunday, but it is certainly another step forward for Norris.
And the driver’s anguish perhaps illustrates the bigger story of the 2024 Formula 1 season. A year ago finishing within two seconds of Verstappen was cause for celebration. Consider some of what Norris said following the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix when he finished second to Verstappen, almost 20 seconds off the Red Bull driver’s pace.
“No, I was I was expecting him to probably lap us two or three times! And he didn’t, so… I mean, I was expecting probably a bigger gap. I think we all were, as a team. And I think it would have been a lot closer, I lost eight or 10 seconds behind Pérez under the [Virtual Safety Car],” said Norris at the FIA Press Conference in Suzuka a season ago.
“I don’t know how hard Max was really pushing. I’m sure he could have gone a bit quicker if he wanted to,” added Norris last year in Japan. “But to be only 19 seconds behind, he didn’t get a free pit-stop, which was lovely. And, yeah, I think it’s just signs of our progress.”
That big gap from a year ago is now down to seconds. Instead of wanting another car to challenge Verstappen, as Will Buxton eloquently stated a few weeks ago, now drivers just want another lap or two. The field has tightened behind Verstappen.
And Norris, his personal anguish aside, is now at the front of that chasing pack.
Jon Rahm is one of the most passionate professional golfers. He is also one of many LIV Golf players who use profanities.
His latest f-bomb came during the Sunday round of the LIV Golf Nashville tournament.
He started his round 3-under through his first five holes, then Rahm stepped on the sixth tee at The Grove.
A loud noise allegedly distracted the Spaniard. He hit his tee shot, causing the ball to go left and splash into the water.
Rahm looked back at the drone and lost it.
“Every tournament!” Rahm yelled. “It’s f—ing incredible! Right in my backswing! F—ing drones every time!”
The 2023 Masters winner double-bogeyed the par-4 6th. It dropped him to four shots behind his teammate and the Nashville leader Tyrrell Hatton.
He did get one of those strokes back with a birdie on seven.
This is not the first time Rahm has thrown an f-bomb around at a LIV Golf tournament; it has become a regular occurrence to hear him cuss.
He and Hatton both yelled the four-letter explicative at Augusta National, which caused Padraig Harrington to call them out. Last year, the duo were caught on hot mics at the Ryder Cup.
In February at LIV Golf Mayakoba, Rahm got caught again yelling the f-word.
When Rahm signed with his new tour last December, he was no stranger to how LIV does its tournaments. He knew what he signed up for, but that did not stop him from cussing.
LIV’s motto is “Golf, but Louder,” but at what point does it become too much for players?
How many hot mic moments have to happen for something to change, or will it at all?
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
McLaren delivered a stunning turnaround throughout the 2023 Formula 1 season. A slow start saw the Woking-based operation limp out of the starting gate, and when the grid left the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix they were mired in sixth place with just 17 points on the season, 23 points behind fifth-place Alpine. But a series of upgrades to the MCL60 saw McLaren storm up the table passing several teams along the way, including Alpine.
Is the French team putting together a shocking turnaround of their own?
Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon finished inside the points for the second straight race, with Gasly scoring a P9 finish and Ocon adding a P10, as the team added three more points to their account with a double-points result at Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix. After beginning the season with five straight races without a point, Alpine has now scored in four out of the last five race weekends to climb out of the F1 cellar, and into seventh place in the 2024 F1 Constructors’ Championship.
Gasly hailed the week as the team’s “best race of the season,” following the race.
“That was our best race of the season so far as a team, so on that front, I am very happy with today,” declared Gasly in the team’s post-race report. “We had a strong Qualifying on Saturday, which set us up for a good result in ninth place today. We executed the race well with the two-stop strategy and managed each stint well.”
The driver highlighted just how close he was to their best single result of the year, as he finished just seconds behind eighth-place finisher Sergio Pérez.
“We almost had eighth place and only missed out on the last lap but I gave it my all. Even so, I’m happy with such a strong race where we battled two fast cars – the McLaren early on and then the Red Bull at the end – so that’s positive for us,” continued Gasly. “We must understand why the package was strong here and take these learnings going forward. We are progressing in a good direction, that’s three points scoring finishes in a row, and we have to keep that going!”
On the other side of the garage, Ocon outlined that it was a “challenging” race, but one that saw a “satisifying” conclusion for the team.
“It was good to get both cars in the points for a second consecutive Grand Prix. It was a challenging race for us with car balance and some tricky stints but nevertheless we managed to bring the car home inside the top ten again and that’s satisfying,” described Ocon.
“It was close with Nico [Hülkenberg] at the end but we were able to maintain pace and grab the final point on merit on track. We have things to analyse such as why the car felt harder to drive in race conditions as I was sliding quite a lot,” continued the Alpine driver. “Even so, we were much more competitive this weekend and we’ve come out of it with a good reward. We will aim to continue our points run in Austria next weekend where we have two opportunities to score points with the Sprint.”
Photo by Kym Illman/Getty Images
Team Principal Bruno Famin — who faced some questions earlier in the week with the news that Alpine was bringing Flavio Briatore aboard in an executive role — hailed the “positive trend” from the team in recent weeks.
“It’s pleasing to have again both cars in the points here in Spain and to score at the last three Grands Prix as a team. It’s a positive trend, which we must keep continuing. We were better at this track and we must analyse the reasons why in order to keep improving our overall package. The race was a tough two-stop for both cars,” described Famin. “The two drivers did a good job, especially in [tire], energy, and fuel management. Next up is the Sprint weekend in Austria where we aim to continue our positive run inside the points.”
Last year at the Red Bull Ring Alpine banked three points, with Ocon securing a pair of points with a P7 in the F1 Sprint, and Gasly adding one more with a tenth-place finish in the Grand Prix. A similar result next weekend would see Alpine creep into double digits on the season, and a few more points closer to sixth-place VCARB.
Perhaps not enough to truly mirror last year’s McLaren rise, but certainly an improvement given where they started the year.
As far as weekends go, this was one to forget for Daniel Ricciardo and the entire Visa Cash App RB F1 Team.
While VCARB arrived at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya hopeful that a series of upgrades to the RB01 would unlock additional performance, from the opening laps of FP1 it was clear that they would be on the back foot. That continued into qualifying — which saw Ricciardo and teammate Yuki Tsunoda eliminated in Q1 — and extended into the race itself. Both Ricciardo and Tsunoda finished outside the points, leaving VCARB to lick their wounds after their first points-less weekend since the Chinese Grand Prix back in April.
Team Principal Laurent Mekies was blunt in his assessment.
“We came here with high hopes for the upgrades that everyone back in the factory has worked so hard to design and produce as part of our aggressive development strategy, began Mekies in the team’s post-race report. “Unfortunately, right from the start of Free Practice we were lacking pace in every session.
“There is no point denying this was a poor weekend for us and although the gaps were very small, we’re not going to make excuses for the fact we just weren’t competitive,” continued the VCARB boss. “Given our starting positions, it would have required some unusual circumstances – rain, a safety car – but the race was pretty linear and while both drivers did their best, we leave Spain with nothing to show for our efforts.”
Tsunoda kept his assessment short and to the point.
“It was a tough race, in which I struggled. The handling of the car was definitely not easy, and I did not feel as comfortable as I normally do,” described Tsunoda. “Something wasn’t quite right, and we’ll analyse everything that happened to understand what did not work well and come back stronger in Austria.”
Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images
Ricciardo, often the optimistic one in the team’s garage, did his best to put a positive spin on things. The Australian driver managed to highlight some bright spots on a dismal day in Barcelona.
“It’s obviously disappointing finishing in P15, but I’m happy with my race and how we managed it as a team with the two stops. I think yesterday I just missed a touch in qualifying, but honestly, today I feel like I [maximized] it with a good race,” described Ricciardo. “We managed the [tires] and pushed when we needed to, so unfortunately, I think we just didn’t have more to show this weekend. There’s certainly lots to learn from weekends like this.
“We take a few little positives and a few more things to work on because we seem to be missing something with the new package. It’s a quick turnaround, so we’ll work on it tonight, trying to understand more in preparation for Austria next week.”
The VCARB boss concluded with a bit of a challenge to the team.
“Now, our whole group faces a stern test to try and make some progress in the very few days available until we are back on track at the Red Bull Ring,” said Mekies. “It’s a very long season, so there are bound to be some tough weekends. We just have to put this one behind us, we must not get downhearted but instead, look ahead and focus on fighting back immediately in a few days’ time in Austria.”
Thankfully for the team, they will not have too much time to lick those wounds, as Red Bull Ring awaits.
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