With the last double header before the summer shut down, McLaren have proved that they are fields above the rest. Other stories, however, have made more noise than McLaren’s victories; notably Max Verstappen’s potential departure from Red Bull to Mercedes and Christian Horner’s recent firing from Red Bull. Further down the field, Sauber had their best result for a long time, with Nico Hulkenberg achieving his first podium ever after thirteen years in the sport at Silverstone, while the rookie drivers struggled in the same race. Let’s recap how the teams fared at the Austrian and British Grand Prix.
McLaren: From Strength To Strength
Pulling away from outside competition, McLaren remain the team to beat. Consecutive 1-2 finishes showcase the team’s dominance this season. Lando Norris took both victories of the double header, edging him close to his teammate, Oscar Piastri, who remains the leader of the Drivers’ Championship. The Australian had the fastest laps of both grand prix, but was not fast enough on these occassions.
Red Bull: Trouble Brewing
Rumours of Max Verstappen’s potential departure from the team, and Christian Horner’s actual departure from the team, overshadow race results at the moment. With a DNF in Austria and P5 in Britain, many are suggesting that Verstappen’s era of dominance is over, and that he has little to no chance of successfully defending his title. Yuki Tsunoda remains absolutely nowhere, miles behind where he arguably should be in such a car. He was the final classified finisher in both double header races.
Sauber: In Good Form
Austria saw their rookie driver, Gabriel Bortoleto, gain his first Formula One points with an 8th place finish. It was a double points weekend for the team, as his teammate veteran driver Nico Hulkenberg ended the race just behind him in P9. Despite a great result at the Red Bull Ring, no one could have predicted how the British Grand Prix weekend would unfold. Bortoleto did not finish, after crashing, but Hulkenberg came home in P3 to achieve his first ever career podium, breaking a 239 race no podium streak. The whole Formula 1 community rallied behind the German driver’s result, with many elated by the result. Mercedes and Aston Martin sent champagne over to the team, since Sauber had not brought their own not expecting a great result like this. Hopefully these results indicate an upward trend in the team’s form which they can carry into the second half of the season after the Belgian Grand Prix and the summer shut down.
Aston Martin: Solid Points Amid Frustrations
While results have been quite good over the double header, Aston Martin’s drivers were not shy about their frustrations over the radio. Fernando Alonso was good enough for a P7 (Austria) and a P9 (Britain), and voiced anger at his strategy at the British Grand Prix, where his teammate was a few places ahead on a different strategy. Lance Stroll went well at Silverstone, running in the podium places for a time before dropping back to P7. In Austria he did not score.
Williams: Slight Improvements
Austria spelled a double DNF for the Williams team, after both cars experienced issues. Silverstone revitalised the team slightly, with Alex Albon finishing in the points (P8), but Carlos Sainz fell out of the points scoring positions after a tussle with former Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc near the end of the race. The team will expect to move out of this run of poor form, and will need to in order to keep up with competition in the Constructors’ Championship standings.
Alpine: Forgettable
For some of the British Grand Prix it looked as though Pierre Gasly would bring a home a great points haul for his team, however he dropped down the order to finish P6; still some points, but certainly not as many as they would have hoped for. Franco Colapinto did not finish at Silverstone, having crashed. Austria was painfully average for Alpine, with both cars finishing out of the points in P13 (PG) and P15 (FC).
Racing Bulls (VCARB): Not A Lot Going On At The Moment
Liam Lawson delivered in Austria, taking eight points from a fifth place finish. His teammate, Isack Hadjar, ended the race further dwon the order and out of points positons in P12. Silverstone was a lot worse, with both cars not finishing.
Haas: No Change
Haas continued to underwhelm over the double header. Taking a single point in Austria, thanks to Esteban Ocon, and none in Britain, they end the period in P9 in the Constructors’ Championship. Oliver Bearman leaves Silverstone with 6 penalty points after crashing in the pit lane.
Ferrari: Podiums And Then Some
Charles Leclerc has quietly been on a great run of form, which seems to have come to an end at the British Grand Prix. Coming off the back of two podium finishes, including P3 in Austria, Silverstone and its trying conditions proved too much for the driver, leaving him out of the points and only able to scrape P14. For Lewis Hamilton, the double header shows some positive progression. His pace at Ferrari has been a much discussed topic this season, but back to back P4 finishes have somewhat quashed talk of his move being a complete failure. Media is still adamant that he is not adjusting to the car well, but these results suggest he could be quite close to a podium finish. Will he be able to achieve this before the summer break?
Mercedes: Sometimes You Get It Completely Wrong
Silverstone was one to forget for the Mercedes team. They seemed to make the wrong calls at exactly the wrong time. They could not catch a break. George Russell was able to salvage a point in P10, but that was as good as it got. Kimi Antonelli leaves the double header with two more DNFs under his belt. A crash with Verstappen in Austria on the opening lap ended his race very quickly, while he was able to hang on until lap 23 at Silverstone. In Austria, Russell finished P5, bagging a decent points haul for the team.
Written and edited by Alexandra.
Featured Image Credit: total-motorsport.com
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