02/07/2023
NEWS STORY
With the weather Gods unlikely to play a part today, it appears we're going to have to rely on the derring-do/stupidity/recklessness of the drivers, the derring-do/stupidity/recklessness of the engineers and the strategists.
The warm and sunny conditions mean that we are unlikely to see the sort of frantic activity witnessed yesterday, though this could prove all too tempting when it comes to testing the track limits.
Having had their cars modified overnight, Magnussen and de Vries will both start from the pitlane, but having qualified 19th and 20th anyway this is is unlikely to make much difference.
While Perez was understandably happy to finish second to his teammate in yesterday's Sprint, today represents an altogether different challenge for starting 15th his first challenge will be to get into the points.
Of course, his lowly qualifying position means that - not for the first time - teammate Verstappen finds himself alone as he seeks to fend off the Ferraris, Norris, Hamilton and the Aston Martin pair.
That said, the form of both the Ferraris and Mercedes has been up and down all weekend, and while the Aston Martins have been a little off the pace - certainly compared to the aforesaid - they are likely to be very much in the mix, while Norris is understandably delighted with the upgrade to the MCL60.
With only the one practice session, not to mention Saturday's changing conditions, the teams are pretty much in the dark heading into the race in terms of data, so this is likely to be a factor.
The fastest strategy seems to be a two-stop, starting on the medium and the switching to hards and back to mediums, or for those who have two sets of the C3s available, another stint on the hardest tyre. The one-stop (medium-hard) could also be competitive, but looking at how last year's race played out, it is a less attractive option than making two pit-stops.
This weekend, and in Canada, we've seen a number of outstanding performances from the likes of Albon and Hulkenberg, and despite the limitations of their machinery there is no reason they cannot be fighting for points again today.
On the other hand, one driver who really needs to raise his game his de Vries, who seemingly has until the summer break before Helmut Marko takes action.
Along with Perez, Russell is starting out of position and it is going to be interesting to monitor their progress (or not).
Over the years - and even yesterday - we've seen drivers come to grief - or very close to it, on the opening lap here, and today with Max under intense pressure from the Ferraris it could all be over before it has even started. As is ever the case, the race cannot be won on the opening lap.
The pitlane opens and the drivers begin to head out.
"I felt like a little power cut at 8," reports Sargeant.
"I think fifth is an encouraging position," says Toto Wolff of Hamilton. "We should see what Ferrari's pace is and the McLaren. Take it one step at a time. I think we were pretty equal to Ferrari, but it was a bit warmer, so we don't really know."
"Ferrari were very quick here last year," says Christian Horner. "It's going to be an interesting race. They've got two against one. That gives them options strategically. We've got to build a lead. A more standard start today, let's hope he gets off the line well."
Ahead of the anthem there is a minute's silence for young Dilano van 't Hoff, who perished at Spa yesterday.
Ahead of the formation lap the air temperature is 22 degrees C, while the track temperature is 32 degrees. Despite the current conditions, race control claims a 30% chance of rain
All are starting on mediums bar Alonso, Bottas and Magnussen who are on hards. All are on fresh rubber bar Hulkenberg who is on used mediums.
They head off on the formation lap, all getting away cleanly.
The grid forms.
They're away! Verstappen leads into Turn 1, ahead of Leclerc and Sainz, while Stroll, Norris and Hamilton are three abreast the Canadian on the inside and the Mercedes on the outside.
Hamilton gets ahead as they exit the corner, while Norris has little wobble while under attack from Alonso. Behind, teammate Stroll is battling Hulkenberg.
In Turn 3, Verstappen and Leclerc almost touch, and while Alonso is momentarily ahead of Norris he loses traction allowing the McLaren to pull ahead.
Meanwhile, having hit the rear of an Alpine at Turn 1, Tsunoda brakes too late at Turn 4 and ends up in the gravel. Though he is able to get going again, the Safety Car has been deployed.
"I have damage," reports the AlphaTauri driver while Magnussen complains of an ERS issue. Both pit.
Behind the Safety Car, it's: Verstappen, Leclerc, Sainz, Hamilton, Norris, Alonso, Hulkenberg, Stroll, Gasly and Albon.
The field is led through the pitlane due to the debris at Turn 1.
The Safety Car is withdrawn at the end of Lap 3.
At the restart, Verstappen leads the field which appears unusually strung out.
Tsunoda passes de Vries while Russell is all over Albon and Stroll is under intense pressure from Gasly who has Albon hard on his heels.
Perez is up to 12th, a place behind Russell, after a nice move on Ocon.
Hamilton is told that his biggest loss to Sainz is under braking for Turn 4.
"Track limits again, that's his third time," says Norris of Hamilton.
Alonso is told to keep to the right of the bump out of Turn 1.
As Leclerc loses ground (2s) to Verstappen, he comes under pressure from his Ferrari teammate.
Stroll passes Hulkenberg for 7th in Turn 3, with Gasly now lining up the Haas driver.
"Let me know for pace," Sainz is asked. "I think you can see," he replies, clearly feeling that his teammate is holding him up.
Zhou pits at the end of Lap 8.
Perez makes a move on Russell in Turn 3, the pair appearing to touch. The Briton fights back but the Mexican slams the door.
Suddenly the timing screen shows a whole load of track limits violations, clearly the FIA's Geneva HQ being kept very busy.
"This car's slow mate," reports Hamilton as he is shown the black and white flag.
Meanwhile, Russell has been passed by Albon.
Told about the black and white flag, Hamilton replies: "I can't keep it on the track if I can't turn."
Moments after pitting, Hulkenberg pills to the side of the track. "I've lost power," he reports.
Check out our Sunday gallery from the Red Bull Ring here.
Alonso complains of oversteer.
The VSC is deployed and Hamilton pits, as do Norris, Gasly, Albon, Russell, Ocon, Piastri and Sargeant.
Tsunoda is shown the black and white flag for track limit violations.
Next time around the Ferraris both pit, as do Alonso and Stroll. It's a slow stop for Leclerc.
The VSC is withdrawn and there's a three-way battle involving Magnussen, Gasly and Bottas for 9th.
Verstappen leads Leclerc, Perez, Hamilton, Norris, Sainz, Alonso, Tsunoda, Magnussen and Gasly.
As Hamilton is handed a 5s penalty, Sainz is incensed as losing so many positions after pitting.
"Guy, come on, why we don't stay out? Come on," he urges.
Tsunoda is handed a 5s penalty.
In tenth, Russell leads a DRS train of 6 cars.
Sainz is wheel-to-wheel with Hamilton, the Ferrari driver edging ahead to claim 4th.
The battle between Magnussen, Albon and Ocon sees the three drivers constantly changing position.
The stewards are investigating a pitlane incident involving Ocon and Sargeant which appeared to involve an unsafe release.
The Albon/Ocon/Magnussen battle has caught up with Tsunoda, while Stroll has caught up at the rear.
"Perez went off at Turn 10," claims Hamilton, "if they're dishing these things out they might as well know."
At which point Sainz gets a black and white.
Out front - by 14s - Verstappen is warned that race control is cracking down on track limits.
"Perez completely off at Turn 10," says Hamilton, "has he got a penalty yet?" He hasn't, but we're sure Geneva is working on it.
Verstappen pits at the end of Lap 24, rejoining in third, 0.268s down on Sainz and 6.9s down on Leclerc.
Ocon has been handed a 5s time penalty for an unsafe release.
As Perez finally pits, Verstappen nails Sainz in Turn 3 to claim second. Leclerc is 5.916s ahead.
In tenth, Perez is all over Albon, the Mexican nailing the Williams with ease.
As opposed to watching Perez' track limits, Hamilton now has to focus on his mirrors as he attacked, and subsequently caught off guard, by Norris. The McLaren driver is through to claim 4th.
A 5s penalty for Sainz as the stewards note that Tsunoda failed to serve his penalty correctly.
Perez leaves Russell for dead to claim 8th.
"I know you'll hate me but we must stay within the (track) limits," Norris is warned.
"At the moment degradation is higher than expected," Leclerc is told, "what do you think about three stops?" "No, no," comes the reply.
As Albon gets the black and white flag, Hamilton has turned his attention to reporting Norris' violations.
Verstappen is all over the rear of Leclerc's Ferrari, as Hamilton gets a 5s time penalty.
On Lap 35, Verstappen nails Leclerc at Turn 3, the Dutchman ensuring that he didn't pass the Ferrari until the DRS activation point.
"He's pushed me off again," says Magnussen as he runs wide whilst battling de Vries.
After 36 laps, it's: Verstappen, Leclerc, Sainz, Norris, Hamilton, Alonso, Perez, Gasly, Russell and Albon.
Stroll pits at the end of Lap 36, the Canadian switching back to hards as he rejoins in 15th.
The stewards are investigating the Magnussen/de Vries incident.
"Has anyone else got penalties yet," asks a frustrated Hamilton.
Sainz is told that he's doing well but has to improve at Turn 7.
Ocon pits at the end of Lap 40, dropping from 11th to 14th in the process Bottas also stops.
As Norris pits, Perez closes on Alonso, the sweeping past the Aston Martin in Turn 3.
Russell and Albon both pit at the end of Lap 42, with Hamilton stopping moments later.
Serving his penalty as he switches to mediums, Hamilton rejoins in 8th.
As Norris sweeps by Gasly for sixth, Sargeant and Tsunoda pit, as does Alonso, who switches to mediums. Gasly also stops.
Sainz pits at the end of Lap 45, serving his penalty in the process. He rejoins in 5th, behind Norris who sets a blistering pace in his bid to pass the Ferrari.
However, a clearly frustrated Sainz is in no mood to hand about and subsequently makes a determined move in Turn 4 on Norris to reclaim the position.
Leclerc pits at the end of Lap 47, the youngster rejoining in third, 8.4s down on Perez.
Verstappen makes his second stop at the end of Lap 49, rejoining 5.2s ahead of his teammate.
A big lock-up in Turn 3 for de Vries who is currently 15th.
Perez pits at the end of Lap 50, the Mexican rejoining in 5th, 4.2s down on Norris.
As Hamilton continues to complain about other drivers not being penalised, Toto Wolff comes on the radio. "Lewis the car is bad, we know, please drive it," says the clearly frustrated Austrian.
Meanwhile, despite losing position to Sainz, Norris continues to hand on to the rear of the Spaniard's Ferrari.
A new fastest lap from Perez (8.111) as he closes to within 1.6s of Norris.
Sainz makes good use of his DRS as he prepares to lap Tsunoda, extending the gap to Norris.
Perez posts another fastest lap (8.111) as he gets within DRS range of Norris. A mistake by the McLaren driver in Turn 3 further aids the Mexican who makes short work of the Briton at the next corner.
In no time at all Perez is all over Sainz. "Sainz moving under braking," he reports.
Check out our Sunday gallery from the Red Bull Ring here.
Perez has DRS but so does the Ferrari, courtesy of Magnussen ahead.
Next time around they almost touch into Turn 3, Perez gets ahead, then they are side by side, unlike his teammate, the Mexican doesn't make use of the DRS activation trick, while Sainz is clearly on the ball.
On Lap 61 the Red Bull driver finally appears to learn from his mistake and gets ahead. However, he almost overcooks it under braking for Turn 4but somehow keeps it all together.
All of which has allowed Leclerc to build a 12.9s comfort cushion.
"The stewards should have a look at that," says Sainz, "he was intimidating me a lot."
Meanwhile, Ocon is warned that he's been shown the black and white.
As they battle for tenth, Stroll and Albon almost touch.
After 65 laps, Verstappen leads by 22.7s. Leclerc is second, followed by Perez (+ 12.4s), Sainz (+ 2.3s), Norris (+ 2.3s), Alonso (+ 7.2s), Hamilton (+ 4.9s), Russel (+ 9.6s), Gasly (+ 7.9s) and Stroll (+ 8.8s).
Sargeant and Magnussen both get 5s time penalties.
Bottas passes Magnussen for 16th, as Tsunoda and Piastri line up the Dane.
"We don't feel the risk of boxing is worthwhile," Verstappen is told, the Dutchman clearly wanting to go for fastest lap.
Sure enough, he pits. Meanwhile, Leclerc is in Turn 7, 23s behind.
The Dutchman rejoins on softs still leading, his lead down to 3.9s.
A black and white for Perez.
Verstappen begins the final lap. A PB is the first sector is followed by a purple in S2. At the line it's another purple as he posts a 7.012. Wham, bam, as they say.
"Classy, very class," says Christian Horner.
Leclerc is second, ahead of Perez, Sainz, Norris, Alonso, Hamilton, Russell, Gasly and Stroll.
Albon is eleventh, ahead of Ocon, Sargeant, Zhou, de Vries, Bottas, Piastri, Tsunoda and Magnussen, with Hulkenberg being the only retirement.
Ignoring the fact that Verstappen won by a country mile - his confidence even allowing him the risk of that late stop for softs - it was an entertaining race.
Yes, there remains far too much reliance on DRS while the drivers are clearly as fed up with track limits as the rest of us.
However, the weekend marked a step forward for Ferrari, redemption for Perez and great performances from the likes of Norris, Gasly and Albon, while even Sargeant and de Vries appeared to raise their games.
Now on to Silverstone.
Check out our Sunday gallery from the Red Bull Ring here.