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News And Events From F1: Austrian Grand Prix

Immediately after the Barcelona round a fortnight ago, Mercedes’ Toto Wolff announced the team’s intention to request a Right Of Review hearing regarding the Monaco Grand Prix results, with George Russell’s penalties having left him outside the points. This followed a recent similar hearing for Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, which resulted in his two five-second penalties for alleged speeding in the pit lane being rescinded and the French driver regaining third position, where he had reached the chequered flag ontrack. Mercedes’ hearing was due to take place a week ago, but one day ahead of it the team announced its intention to withdraw its request on the basis that it felt there was very little chance of succeeding as the circumstances were different to Gasly’s.

However, on a similar theme, McLaren and Red Bull are still set to appeal against Gasly’s reinstatement to third place in Monaco, which cost them points in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships. The issue is due to be heard in the FIA governing body’s International Court of Appeal in Geneva on a date yet to be set, which will probably be in July. It’s understood that Red Bull is still holding onto the third-place trophy received by Isack Hadjar in Monaco on race day after Gasly’s initial demotion to seventh place, but Alpine is asking for it to be handed to them after winning its hearing.

It has to be said that this all simply sets a worrying precedent not only for this year’s Monaco race results but also for the ongoing potential for subsequent similar protests impacting Formula 1’s normally smooth running of its Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships.

The Mercedes infighting between Russell and Antonelli is reminiscent of Hamilton versus Rosberg

On a different front, after some very combative intra-team battling between Mercedes’ Russell and Kimi Antonelli in Barcelona, which ultimately helped Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton to take his first Grand Prix victory for Ferrari, a very unhappy Wolff has threatened to make his drivers share future repair costs after any ontrack accidents between the duo, adding that he may also start to use team orders to help avoid any repetition of what had happened in Spain. It’s an admirable policy to let your two drivers fight each other for supremacy, and Antonelli was again set to emerge ahead of Russell in Barcelona after a superb overtaking manoeuvre late in the race before the former’s car ground to a halt with electrical issues. F1 is, though, also a team game in so many respects, and internal fighting cannot be allowed to increase repair costs in these restricted budget times nor impact directly on results and victories achieved.

Elsewhere, the future of Red Bull’s four-time world champion, Max Verstappen, continues to be uncertain. The Dutch racer is contracted to the team until the end of the 2028 season, but he can trigger an exit clause effective at the conclusion of the current campaign if he remains outside the top two in the Drivers’ Championship at the start of the forthcoming summer break. Verstappen arrived in Austria in only seventh place, and it’s mathematically highly likely that he won’t be in the top two after the Hungarian round in late July. Significantly, the RB22 car has tended to be uncompetitive compared to Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.

Widely regarded throughout the F1 pit lane as the best driver of the current generation and one of the greatest ever, Verstappen is of far more importance to Red Bull, as it seeks to attract quality new technical staff and sponsors, than the team is to him. He has, though, always stressed the importance of loyalty and his hope to stay with Red Bull for the entirety of his F1 career, but at the same time, when he is at the peak of his powers, it is a big ask for him to accept racing for perhaps only the fourth quickest team on the grid when wins and titles are far more important to him than purely money.

In short, Verstappen faces what may come to be a choice between an even higher financial return from Red Bull or a greater chance of ontrack success elsewhere and potentially with Mercedes or McLaren if Red Bull is unable to give him the competitive car he so wants. He and his manager, Raymond Vermeulen, met with Red Bull’s global senior management in Salzburg recently, but no agreement was reached in terms of securing his future with the team if the exit clause becomes active next month. However, Verstappen and his manager have both expressed a desire for a clear decision about Verstappen’s future to be made during the summer break.

Will Verstappen’s future be with Red Bull, Mercedes or McLaren?

Mercedes’ Wolff has admitted that a key part of his job is to attract the best drivers to the team and that Verstappen has understandably long been on his wish list. However, the current pairing of Russell with 19-year-old Antonelli is proving highly successful, and a big-money acquisition of a potentially available Verstappen has become less vital. Russell would probably be the driver forced to leave if Verstappen arrives, but in Austria the King’s Lynn driver said he was “100%” certain he would still be driving for Mercedes next year. Young Antonelli has been an absolute revelation this season, regularly outpacing Russell, and it’s inconceivable that Wolff would look to drop Antonelli to make room for Verstappen.

However, there would, of course, be no need for Russell to leave Mercedes if Verstappen ultimately decides to stay with Red Bull or to join McLaren, with initial discussions having already begun. A key attraction for the Dutch driver would be the opportunity to work again alongside his Red Bull colleague and close friend, Gianpiero Lambiase, who is already set to leave the team for McLaren. It seems that Oscar Piastri would be the current McLaren driver to leave should Verstappen arrive and possibly in the opposite direction, to Red Bull. Lando Norris and Verstappen would certainly be a very strong pairing for McLaren, both on and off track, should it come to be, as would Antonelli and Verstappen for Mercedes. Time will tell on this front.

Meanwhile, despite a recent high-value contract extension for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, the Monégasque driver endured difficult results in Monaco and Barcelona and had arrived in Austria knowing that he needed to perform better and re-establish himself as the de facto team leader ahead of a resurgent Lewis Hamilton, who has of late proved that he can cope far better with this year’s new generation of cars than the previous ground-effect ones, with which he struggled for both Mercedes and Ferrari. However, Leclerc could only finish eighth at the Red Bull Ring, three places behind his teammate.

In other news, just ahead of the Austrian round, the popular Sky F1 presenter, Rachel Brookes, announced her departure from the Sky F1 team with immediate effect, having worked for them for the last 14 years and having become a regular face within the F1 paddock and pit lane. Her future plans have yet to be revealed, but she has indicated that she will remain within the F1 world.

Lastly, the FIA, the governing body of world motorsport, has amended some of its internal rules, including the one which had limited the time that anyone could serve as President to 12 years. This high-profile role now has no such limit, something the current incumbent, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, has been very keen to achieve.

Also by Graham Read...

Russell On Top At The Red Bull Ring

Hamilton’s First GP Victory For Ferrari

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Antonelli Sublime Amidst Monaco Chaos

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