After a relatively sedated inaugural European Grand Prix around the streets of Baku last time out, Formula 1 succeeded in exploding back into the limelight with a fascinating, controversial and wild weekend in Austria.
From the moment the first practice session got underway, there were spills and thrills on a regular basis, with the new kerbs lining the circuit initially causing controversy, before the weather intervened, Pascal Wehrlein shone for Manor and once again the Mercedes drivers failed to keep their cars away from each other.
So grab a cuppa and make yourself comfortable as Grand Prix Times’ Andy Young discusses five talking points from the Austrian Grand Prix.
1. Handbags at dawn as Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton collide once again
Already in 2016 the relationship between Mercedes drivers Rosberg and Hamilton has been pushed thoroughly to the limit, with the duo taking each other out of the race at the start in Spain.
So it was unsurprising that when Hamilton’s comfortable lead at the front was rendered insignificant during the first round of pit-stops that an on-track overtaking manoeuvre could lead to trouble in Austria.
Usually the lead driver has preference over who pits first in a team, and when Rosberg was called in first to switch from ultra soft tyres to soft tyres, it was clear Hamilton’s on-track advantage would be under severe threat.
And so after a further round of pit-stops and a surprise retirement from the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel, Rosberg led Hamilton with only a handful of laps remaining by just over a second.
Initially the Briton was confused as to why he had been given soft tyres yet again, whereas Rosberg had been issued softer and initially quicker super soft tyres.
On the final lap at Turn 2, Hamilton attacked around the outside and the duo collided with Rosberg seemingly making no major effort to make the turn.
Hamilton ran wide and almost collected his team-mate while rejoining the circuit, as Rosberg’s front-wing was obliterated after the initial contact as he plummeted from first to fourth, gifting the lead to Hamilton.
So the resounding question is: who was at fault?
It’s very easy to instantly blame Rosberg for the incident, however several key factors need to be addressed before the blame can be justifiably issued.
Firstly, it has been mentioned by many within the paddock and no less than Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff that Rosberg had a brake-by-wire issue during the latter stages of the race.
This could therefore account for Rosberg’s very late braking into Turn 2, but not necessarily the degree he initially tries to turn his steering wheel.
It’s clear from the onboard camera that Rosberg had no intentions of making the apex of Turn 2, and was more than likely trying his best to use his brake-by-wire issue as a deterrent to team-mate Hamilton.
The second key factor to the incident is Hamilton’s approach to the Turn 2 collision. The entire scenario was very reminiscent of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost’s collision during the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix at the final chicane, where Senna just sails straight on and Prost turns in on the Brazilian.
Although Hamilton was entirely within his right to try and make the turn, there’s no denying a driver of his stature should’ve been prone to Rosberg’s defensive approach. After all, they were great friends while they competed in lower racing categories.
In hindsight there are several different ways Hamilton could’ve acted in relation to Rosberg’s driving. He could’ve just continued going straight with the German under braking, as they were essentially heading towards one of the tracks enormous run-off areas.
Hamilton could then have looped around and beaten him on the exit of the corner, however that could’ve brought him under scrutiny from the stewards for making the overtake whilst off the track, unless Rosberg was off the track too and therefore Hamilton could’ve argued that Rosberg forced him wide.
On the other hand Hamilton could’ve braked much earlier for Turn 2, using Rosberg’s brake issue against him. While the German would’ve gone sailing straight on, Hamilton could’ve embarrassed him even further and undercut him to gain the position.
Undoubtedly Rosberg will be bitter about the outcome in more ways than one, because if he had miraculously managed to maintain the lead and avoid contact, there’s a strong possibility he would’ve led the remainder of the final lap unchallenged.
The final heavy braking point and overtaking zone at Turn 3 was under double-waved yellows due to Sergio Perez’s crash – ironically from a brake failure – so therefore Hamilton would’ve been prevented from overtaking.
From there the remaining corners were medium to high speed in nature, and would’ve favoured the leader.
Overall it was a racing incident, with neither driver willing to give the other the racing line. It’s happened before and it will happen again, but let’s just remember that for now we have two top drivers in the same team racing literally wheel-to-wheel and that immediately trying to blame a driver is rather counterproductive.
Team orders were not issued, in stark contrast to how other teams have operated in the past. Just imagine the consternation had Mercedes told Hamilton to hold station, preempting the collision.
If this form of entertainment doesn’t float your boat then maybe F1 isn’t the sport for you.
2. Wonderful Wehrlein shines as Manor secure a point as they rise above Sauber
From the very start of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend it seemed Manor and in particular Wehrlein were on course for another competitive midfield result.
Although the German ended final practice a respectable 13th and then went on to qualify an even better 12th for the race, Wehrlein and the Manor team were resigned to the fact that finishing higher than their grid spot would be a very tall order.
However, after running as low as 20th after pitting just before the safety car period, Wehrlein managed to scythe his way steadily back through the order to run 12th during the final few laps.
That soon became tenth when Fernando Alonso and Perez retired in the closing stages, rising the team above rivals Sauber in the constructors’ championship with their first point of the season and only the second occasion in their entire F1 history that they have finished within the points.
As celebrations reigned down upon Wehrlein within the Manor camp as if the German had instead won the race, many members of the team and the paddock in general must have glanced to the heavens with their thoughts set on one main individual who brought the first sense of achievement of that kind to the team in 2014: Jules Bianchi.
The late Frenchman secured the team’s first points in F1 at the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix, enough to see the Banbury-based outfit end the season ahead of Sauber and Caterham in the constructors’ championship.
Although Bianchi suffered life-ending injuries towards the end of the season in Japan and the team ultimately filed for administration shortly afterwards, the spirit of Bianchi has since been a driving force behind the whole team.
With Mercedes power now driving the team even further forward, Manor could will be aiming to remain ahead of Sauber and even accumulate more points in their quest to usurp Renault in the constructors’ championship.
For Sauber the sheer necessity for a point from either of their drivers is proving ever more important. Sauber’s current financial status is still far from ideal, and with Manor now above them in the championship Sauber’s overall image within the sport is on the rocks.
While many could argue that Marussia’s two points from the Monaco Grand Prix in 2014 were down to a combination of driver skill and luck, there’s no denying that Manor’s points in Austria were down to driver skill and more importantly improved pace from the Banbury-based outfit.
Repeatedly this season we have seen Sauber end qualifying and/or the race behind Manor on sheer pace, with even Renault joining the three-way battle at the bottom of the pecking order.
Although Renault managed to break free of that stranglehold thanks to Kevin Magnussen’s seventh place in Russia, the bottom three are still rather evenly matched, a fact which will make Sauber’s ascendancy even tougher.
At regular intervals the media are assured that Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn is busy seeking business deals with potential partners, with her attendance trackside falling dramatically since last season. However, so far Sauber are relying heavily on sponsorship money from Nasr and Ericsson.
For any potential investor to consider joining Sauber, they desperately need to show on-track performance and quick!
3. Vettel suffers unusual tyre failure
After incurring a five-place grid penalty for the Austrian Grand Prix, four-time world champion Vettel was fully aware that a decent result would require a competitive drive.
Despite starting the race from ninth of the grid following his penalty, Vettel slowly worked his way up through the field to eventually lead the race on Lap 23.
Only several laps later Vettel suffered a wild right-rear puncture along the pit straight, which sent the German spearing into the pit wall. Despite the high-speed nature of the blowout, the incident was not as severe as it could’ve been.
However Vettel was propelled back across the track after making light contact with the pit wall, narrowly avoiding a collision with the Manor of Wehrlein who had just been lapped by Vettel.
With the offending tyre in complete tatters, members of the paddock and fans alike instantly began to debate the cause of Vettel’s puncture.
Some immediately thought of the harsh kerbs which line the Red Bull Ring, particularly after Daniil Kvyat, Max Verstappen and Perez’s issues throughout the weekend.
However, the aforementioned issues destroyed the suspension on the respective cars instead of causing the tyre itself to spectacularly delaminate.
Some people stated that Vettel’s opening stint had been pushed too long, with the Ferrari racer’s tyres having completed 29 laps. Admittedly they were the initial tyres the German had used to qualify with in Q2, however the Sauber of Felipe Nasr ran 27 laps on the same tyre compound in his last stint.
The super-soft tyre compound wasn’t even the softest one on offer from Pirelli, with the new ultra soft tyre also available. Hamilton made his ultra softs last until Lap 23 during his opening stint, so therefore pushing the compound beyond the limit is unlikely to be the cause.
Pirelli’s immediate response was that it was caused by debris, however a post-race press release later changed that conclusion with the Italian tyre supplier stating they were investigating the issue along with Ferrari.
Although Pirelli has a dark history when it comes to tyre failures and delaminations, this is the second time Vettel has suffered a tyre failure of this kind.
Towards the end of the Belgian Grand Prix last year Vettel’s right-rear tyre exploded is a very similar fashion, albeit with the German managing to maintain control of his Ferrari.
Whether the issue was down to debris on the track, the harshness of the kerbs lining the track or an aggressive strategy from Ferrari remains to be seen. However, tyre failures of that kind are never a good sign, and both the Scuderia and Pirelli will undoubtedly be working tremendously hard to get to the bottom of the issue before the start of the British Grand Prix.
4. “Sausage” and “baguette” kerbs offer food for thought on track limits
Call them what you want, but the yellow raised kerbs which line the resurfaced Red Bull Ring instantly gained notoriety within the paddock from the start of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.
In practice one Verstappen ran wide on the exit of Turn 8 and bumped over the kerbs in question, dislodging a piece of his front-wing in the process. Only moments later Verstappen did likewise on the exit of Turn 5 and this time damaged his front-right suspension and went straight on into the gravel at Turn 6.
In final practice the following day Rosberg suffered an unusual rear-left suspension failure on the exit of Turn 2, which speared the German’s Mercedes into the barrier and subsequently forced him to change his gearbox.
The severity of these suspension failures increased tenfold in qualifying, when Kvyat ran wide at Turn 8 and suffered a rear-left suspension failure which pitched the Russian into the inside barrier protecting the pit entry and then across the track on the apex of Turn 9 before coming to a halt deep in the run-off area.
Moments earlier Perez also suffered a rear suspension failure after riding one of the “sausage” kerbs, forcing him to limp back to the pits and sit out of the remainder of the session.
Now before I go any further the strong argument that the drivers’ were simply punished for running off the track is fully valid. After all we want to see the drivers keeping their cars within the white lines, and if they stray beyond them an instant punishment should be waiting for them.
But these raised yellow demons are surely an unnecessary evil and are simply replacing a tried and tested technique which was a part of F1 and motorsport in general for decades: gravel traps.
Almost every historic track that has remained on the calendar has had the vast majority of their gravel traps replaced with vast run-off areas. Just take a look at Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, Monza and Suzuka.
What were natural ways of punishing drivers and forcing them into retirement have been replaced by run-off areas which invite drivers to run wide, only for new means of punishment to be introduced which quite honestly deal a much more damaging blow.
Back in 1998 Michael Schumacher made a mistake while battling alongside Mika Hakkinen in Austria and ran wide. Instead of lap up a bland run-off area or have his suspension destroyed [possibly spearing him into another driver] he spectacularly bounced across a gravel trap which destroyed his front-wing.
After returning to the pits for repairs he then scythed back through the field. But he knew from then on that a similar mistake would be very costly. Lesson learnt.
The most blatant circuit for this is Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, one of the most revered circuits on the calendar and for good reason.
Admittedly a run-off area is a good solution at Eau Rouge at the start of the lap, as the sheer speed and elevation change make a mistake through there punishable anyway due to the close proximity of the walls.
But take Pouhon – the fast sweeping right-hander as the track falls away after the rise of Les Combes – and you have a prime example of a corner which has lost a lot of awe due to the implementation of run-off areas.
All that is required is a short strip of grass on the exit of the initial red and white kerbs, followed by a deep gravel trap and the drivers will soon learn that there is no advantage to be gained by running wide.
No more debating about whether the stewards need to begin deleting times because all four wheels were off the track and no need for raised kerbs which literally shake a car to pieces.
5. What a difference two years makes for Williams
Two years ago Williams secured a wonderful front-row lock-out for the return of the Austrian Grand Prix, the first race in the country since 2003. Fast forward to the present day and the once dominant outfit could only get one car to the finish.
When Williams switched to Mercedes power for the 2014 season hopes were high that it would spark more competitive results for the outfit, and they were dutifully rewarded with nine podium finishes in their first season with the German marque.
While many expected Williams to continue improving after a successful first season with Mercedes power, they instead struggled slightly the following year with only a handful podium finishes – all of them in third position.
So far 2016 has been somewhat of a damp squib for Williams, with the outfit currently sat fourth in the championship albeit over 70 points behind Red Bull. Although Williams has enjoyed a resurgence thanks to Mercedes power in comparison to their time with Renault beforehand, they have still yet to return to the top spot while Red Bull has still won several races, including one this season.
Interestingly many are tipping Jenson Button to return to Williams next season should McLaren drop him in favour of protege Stoffel Vandoorne, however would that be a clever move from the 2009 world champion?
While the progress of Williams has plateaued somewhat in the last few seasons, McLaren’s has slowly but surely improved with each race. For some time now they have been insisting they have one of the strongest chassis on the grid, and when overall power necessarily wasn’t the key in the damp qualifying session Button managed to qualify fifth, which became third once penalties were applied.
Button then ran as high as second before dropping down the order as the likes of Vettel, Raikkonen, Rosberg and the Red Bulls progressed. However, the Briton still clung on to finish sixth, his fifth race in the points so far this season.
Surely a move to Williams at this vital stage of improvement from McLaren could be yet another poor move from Button.
