Formula 1, Leclerc is competitive again in Austria, but Verstappen is still far ahead
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Won the sprint race, also got his hands on the “long”, which counts him as success number 42 in his career in the palmares of the absolute Grand Prix in Formula 1: Max Verstappen is still uncatchable, just like Sergio Perez did a great race; but he had started fifteenth and recovered almost everyone, finishing third.
Signs of recovery, finally, from Ferrari. Second and fourth, with Leclerc and Sainz, the single-seater from Maranello raises its head a bit compared to some much more modest results in the first part of the season. A podium certainly not useful for having any “world dream” this year, but still an important and encouraging result for the team and, above all, for Leclerc as a driver. The Monegasque is there when he counts, when the car starts to do its job, considering the prestigious name it bears.
Less monotonous than usual
Of course, looking at Verstappen’s performance, one can say that he saw the “usual immediate and merciless escape”, right from the sprint from pole position. Perhaps a little more charitable than other times, because, with the game of tire changes, at least the leadership changed for a few laps. A swing useful for the exposure of the sponsors but also precious for the hearts of the fans: a Leclerc in the lead, even if it was known that it could not last, was liked and served the morale of many. And also for show purposes. However, if the leadership hasn’t changed much beyond this episode, we can however say that this was a fairly eventful grand prix, because there were several “struggles” in the podium positions. Where, apart from the first “untouchable” square, Ferrari had the upper hand for once. To this end, the choice of the red wall, during the course of the 71 laps, not to let Sainz attack Leclers was far-sighted and appreciable. In fact, the Spaniard was unable to maintain his third position on Perez towards the end. However, for some rounds, the Italian and Hispanic fans had believed it a bit. But what we really saw on the track was that Sergio, who started from fifteenth position, made one of the best comebacks of his career, so it can’t be said that he didn’t deserve to finish third.
Even before this race, Verstappen was leading the standings with a 70-point lead: from today they are 77 points ahead of Perez and 100 points ahead of Alonso. By finishing in the lead, he naturally gained even more advantage over Checo, the first of his pursuers. But Max is never satisfied and, perhaps also thanks to the fact that he was born in Belgium, he has inherited a bit of attitude from Eddy Merckx, the most greedy “cannibal” of results ever remembered in sport: today, in fact, out of greed , arrears and perhaps a bit of exhibitionism, in the final stages the defending champion took a big risk in returning for the fourth pit stop two laps from the end, narrowing the margin on Leclerc to less than 4 seconds. All in order to be able to detach the fastest time on Sunday at the end of the grand prix, with almost a quintal less fuel than at the start, which actually earned him an extra point. A gamble that other teams, in other situations, it is not certain they would have taken, if not in similar positions by a large margin in the drivers’ standings: these things are done only if, in the event of unforeseen events, the advantages acquired are not lost.
The other appropriate adjective, however, is also “selfish”: given the clear superiority of the car, he could honestly have given this privilege, if he had succeeded, to Perez. But nothing: Max wants to continually demonstrate that he is strong and in full control of the situation. More music for the redheads, but this week, at least, the glass is half full. Too bad, however, for the more conservative choices: one less pit stop it was more cautious, because doing four with the times he set today would have been part of a rarer case and potentially at great risk of nasty surprises. However, the day in red was the second most positive among the chasing teams.
Can’t say the same there Aston Martin, which proved again this Sunday to be still slightly less competitive than in the previous races. Yet he aimed to consolidate himself as the second force in the league. The team is building a lot and Dan Fallows, fifty years old already “dolphin” of Adrian Newey, holds a large part of the credit. But with the Mc Laren between his feet and a growing Ferrari, today, Alonso found himself “only” sixth. Luckily for him, however, fourth place in the provisional ranking is not yet at risk because both Mercedes finished behind him. But with just one point brought home by Stroll, Aston Martin’s long-term prospects are perhaps no longer as rosy as they appeared at the beginning of the year: so much so that now the constructors’ standings see Mercedes in second place, with six points advantage over the “greens”. Because, despite arriving behind, at least two riders almost always behave well! Looking ahead to the next three races, in short, some balance could change, because if Alonso has suffered too much, with Ferrari and McLaren growing, all the teams “different” from Red Bull will certainly be able to give more and more entertainment every Sunday .
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