Grand Prix 2025 Austrian Grand Prix

ive had quite a busy week that this race has sort of creeped up on me . but it is at the A1 ring Red Bull ring in austria, & for maybe the 1st time ever its not a sprint weekend. almost a 3rd home race for Max Verstappen, aside from Spa & Zandvoort. with the reason we have been racing here is due to red bull bankrolling the renovation. talking about verstappen this is the final race of tightrope he has been walking. as again 1 more penalty point & he will become only the 3rd driver since the turn of the millennium to be banned for a race & only the 2nd to reach 12 penalty points. following Grosjean in 2012 & Magnussen last season. im sure he wants to race at silverstone next weekend. even if he did joke post F1 75. about not wanting to come back after he got booed

but on austria its a great circuit, love the scenery & the elevation changes. the shortest qualifying lap of the whole season & interesting the majority of the top 10 shortest pole laps have taken place here
2020 Sakhir GP 53.377
1979 Dijon 58.790
1985 South African GP 1:02.366
2020 Austrian GP 1:02.939
2019 Austrian GP 1:03.003
2018 Austrian GP 1:03.130
2021 Austrian GP 1:03.720
2017 Austrian GP 1:04.251
2024 Austrian GP 1:04.314
2023 Austrian GP 1:04.391
1990 French GP 1:04.402

its supposed to be quite dry all weekend, which is a bit lucky when you see the forecast because they had thunderstorms & hail yesterday, more rain forecast every day from monday to friday. the big question is will mclaren win at this circuit for the 1st time since 2001 when David Coulthard won & Max's dad scored points for the final time in his F1 career

 

[Christoon]

After watching both practice sessions today, McLaren looks like the team to beat this weekend. Ferrari's big floor upgrade doesn’t seem to have made much of a difference, as they are still trailing the front-runners. Sauber looked like the most improved, with Bortoleto showing strong pace. Their floor body and rear wing changes seem to be working well. If you are curious about the updates each team brought to the Austrian GP, this guide breaks it all down.

 

[Il_leone]

Norris looks like a man on the mission

Williams surprise they are down

Racing Bulls - Liam Lawson is a surprise

Red Bull - Tsunoda now has the problem - did the Imola crash completely destroy his confidence?

- Verstappen - Has not got GP this week as his race engineer so wonder if this is also not helping

 

[cider_and_toast]

Gasly wrecked qualifying for a number of cars there.

 

[Il_leone]

Gasly wrecked qualifying for a number of cars there.

Piastri - definitely

Maybe Verstappen but don't think he would have been in the front 2 rows as Red Bull are really struggling . I wonder how Red Bull will take Liam Lawson outqualifying him . I'd love to hear Horner, Marko and Lawson about that

 

[cider_and_toast]

We're seeing the beginning of the end of Red Bull Racing.

With Newey gone, the team having to spend the same amount as every one else and the team that pioneered the flexible wing now unable to use that advantage, they're already struggling.

They've spent far too long shitting all over their second drivers and I would bet they're not getting anything like the quality of engineering feedback that other teams get.

 

[Il_leone]

We're seeing the beginning of the end of Red Bull Racing.

With Newey gone, the team having to spend the same amount as every one else and the team that pioneered the flexible wing now unable to use that advantage, they're already struggling.

They've spent far too long shitting all over their second drivers and I would bet they're not getting anything like the quality of engineering feedback that other teams get.

The talk is Tsunoda should be replaced now by.... Hadjar who has been advised not to take it Lawson who has been burnt once but did a brilliant job today to be faster than Verstappen

Totally agree beating up the No 2 driver and demanding the No 1 driver total focus is not helping when Verstappen can't figure it out much like the manner Alonso had at Ferrari

Lindblad - who has been fast tracked and seems like have potential similar to Verstappen and seems to be a response to what Mercedes are doing with Antonelli

Its amazing how Red Bull thought taking care of the No2 driver did not matter for so long pandering to Jos Verstappen's demands ...until now

Remember the time Horner said " Everyone wanted to join Red Bull" , well it looks like everyone can't wait to get out of Red Bull quickly enough

Ironically Rob Marshall - left Red Bull and joined Mclaren from the beginning of 2024 - anyone notice the difference in form between the two teams

They've lost the engine freeze advantage from the Honda engine and the clamp down on free sandwiches is a bit of hard to swallow for them

Horner not denying that Ferrari and Alpine are interested in him maybe the final straw that breaks the team

The news that Vettel is lined up to replace Marko is interesting indeed given Verstappen's loyalty towards Helmut

 

[cider_and_toast]

None of the number 2 drivers at Red Bull have been bad. Average mostly but certainly not bad by any stretch.

They simply don't seem to care about who they pair with their star man.

 

[Il_leone]

None of the number 2 drivers at Red Bull have been bad. Average mostly but certainly not bad by any stretch.

They simply don't seem to care about who they pair with their star man.

They do because Sainz was probably the best option but they are too scared of losing Verstappen so have to massage his ego the point they needed a capable driver to who can win races and take off points from rivals but not so that it can challenge Verstappen which was Perez or Jos will spill more sh!T to the Dutch Telelgraaf and the Sportsbild.

They care only to making sure Verstappen wins the championship a bit like the Schumacher Ferrari set up. Schumacher retired when Luca said you're racing Raikkonen to be your successor instead.

This is a self inflicted problem considering that Racing Bulls is suppose to be the feeder team not one step from ending your career . They've ignored the problem for so long and got complacent thinking Mercedes and Ferrari were their nearest rivals and totally under estimated the rate Mclaren were coming back. Sainz would have been a great option given his experience at Ferrari and Mclaren. They've focused so much on Verstappen that they never saw the wider picture

I will say I was critical of Mercedes not promoting Russell sooner and I think in some ways its taken them back further than they ought to be

 

[The Artist.....]

Piastri - definitely

Maybe Verstappen but don't think he would have been in the front 2 rows as Red Bull are really struggling . I wonder how Red Bull will take Liam Lawson outqualifying him . I'd love to hear Horner, Marko and Lawson about that

That being said, I just couldn't see Piastri beating Norris today - Norris' pace was Verstappen-esque

 

[Il_leone]

I agree Norris was so on it today. The race is between the two Mclarens they are at least 0.3 seconds clear a lap

 

[F1Brits_90]

The talk is Tsunoda should be replaced now by.... Hadjar who has been advised not to take it Lawson who has been burnt once but did a brilliant job today to be faster than Verstappen

oh yeah, i think he's already said as much that he wouldnt want that. proof that red bull never learn. 2020? they threw albon in the deep end with half a season experience. then dumped him for not being good enough. so why are they going to do that again

everyone but red bull knew they shouldve taken sainz to future proof themselves & they wouldve known there 2nd car issues in testing not june. but they put verstappen above the team. who for the 2nd time in 12 months is chatting to mercedes about leaving. for champion team they have been incredibly naive

 

[cider_and_toast]

That being said, I just couldn't see Piastri beating Norris today - Norris' pace was Verstappen-esque

Norris is one of the most frustrating drivers of recent times. He goes from 105% performance levels to 95% percent performance levels on a whim.

If he could drive at 100% of his ability more regularly he'd still be way out in front but make far fewer mistakes.

He needs to adopt the Prost skill of driving at the speed required to win a race. Boring, yes but effective, definitely.

 

[Il_leone]

F1Brits_90 Who put a stop to it or was afraid to make the call? Given his qualities signing Sainz was a no brainer

cider_and_toast Norris is the new Button

Incidentally Bernie is at the race and will give the winners trophy
Interesting to hear his take on Verstappen, Hamilton and Ferrari

 

[F1Brits_90]

@F1Brits_90 Who put a stop to it or was afraid to make the call? Given his qualities signing Sainz was a no brainer

they say it was either horner to not upset verstappen or it was verstappen
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agree on norris,if he loses the title this season it will be his consistency that is at fault because piastri highs & lows are alot less. because weve seen hm be unbeatable & then be nowhere. but this is exactly what norris needed coming to silverstone. because win at silverstone as well & he could lead the championship

hopefully Ferrari are finally back & this isnt yet another false dawn

 

[F1Brits_90]

if a picture ever told a 1000 words. the weekend from hell for sainz family. he cant wait to leave austria i bet

I guess this what you have expect from such a inexperienced driver like antonelli. just hopefully he will learn from that as its very poor to complete miss your braking zone. he was like a bowling ball

 

[F1Brits_90]

incredible racing. but how piastri didnt return the favour from Canada & smash into norris. i dont know

 

[Il_leone]

incredible racing. but how piastri didnt return the favour from Canada & smash into norris. i dont knowView attachment 18173

Mclaren thought that was too risky

 

[Il_leone]

A lot has been said about the fragility of the Merc engines

 

[cider_and_toast]

Norris the deserved winner today and over the weekend but the fact he's getting so much coaching on how to drive the car is slightly embarrassing.

Overall, the race promised much in the first third but then died on its arse for the rest of the session.

Piastri definitely got away with it going too hot into turn 4 and later when he almost got wiped out by the Alpine.

After the final round of stops when Norris managed to come out ahead of the traffic and Piastri behind, it was pretty much game over as far as a battle for the lead went.

Dull with the occasional moment really.