- Mar 20, 2007
- 28,259
- 24,781
- AFL Club
- West Coast
After a week off, the F1 is back and headed to Austria for the annual race around the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. Back on the usual European schedule for races with a 10pm EST Race time (8PM WST) on Sunday. I do believe that rain and thunderstorms are forecast throughout the weekend.
On board Lap from Lewis Hamiltons pole last year
Number of Laps: 71
Track Length: 4.326km
Race Distance: 307.02km
Lap Record: 1.08.337 (Michael Schumacher, 2003)
Tyre Choices: Soft (Yellow), Supersoft (Red), Ultrasoft (Purple)
2015 Results: Nico Rosberg (1st), Lewis Hamilton (2nd), Felipe Massa (3rd)
2015 Qualifying: Lewis Hamilton (1st) - 1.08.455
TV Schedule: Fox Sports 5 will have all the usual stuff, Race from 10pm EST Sunday. Highlights will show on TEN the next day I believe.
Despite being called the "Red Bull Ring" this is a track which will not favor theRenault Tag Heuer Engine, despite its recent upgrade. Mercedes will obviously be favourites on this track, but the ones to look out for this week are Williams. Strong result in Canada with a podium, and a disappointing race last week for them. They have history of doing well in Austria including podiums and pole positions in recent years. Its a track that heavily favours top straight line speed, so expect to see the Mercedes powered cars do well here. It will be interesting to see how the Force Indias go here too ,after a podium finish in Baku.
In terms of the Championship, it seems to be a battle of the two Mercedes drivers after last race. Rosberg needed that win in Baku after Hamilton was beginning to catch him. 24 points now the difference between the two so a DNF from Rosberg and a win from Hamilton would see a leadership change. Also a closer than expected battle going on at Ferrari despite Vettel being considered by most the better driver, and some questioning how long Raikkonen has left at Ferrari.
1. Nico Rosberg 141
2. Lewis Hamilton 117
3. Sebastian Vettel 96
4. Kimi Räikkönen 81
5. Daniel Ricciardo 78
6. Max Verstappen 54
7. Valtteri Bottas 52
8. Sergio Perez 39
9. Felipe Massa 38
10. Daniil Kvyat 22
11. Romain Grosjean 22
12. Nico Hulkenberg 20
13. Fernando Alonso 18
14. Carlos Sainz 18
15. Kevin Magnussen 6
16. Jenson Button 5
17. Stoffel Vandoorne 1
18. Esteban Gutierrez 0
19. Jolyon Palmer 0
20. Marcus Ericsson 0
21. Felipe Nasr 0
22. Pascal Wehrlein 0
23. Rio Haryanto 0
The constructors battle looks a lot more interesting mid table than it does at the top. I would expect both Williams and Force India to start closing the gap on Red Bull this weekend. Ferrari had a strong result in Baku, and will look to further increase the gap from Red Bull, who I think will struggle this weekend
1. Mercedes 258
2. Ferrari 177
3. Red Bull 140
4. Williams 90
5. Force India 59
6. Toro Rosso 32
7. McLaren 24
8. Haas Ferrari 22
9. Renault 6
10. Sauber 0
11. MRT 0
Most teams are favouring the ultrasoft tyre for this weekend. Although there are 71 laps in this race, the track is pretty short and I wouldn't imagine there being the need for too many stops during the race.
If the Mercedes end up on the front row and get away to a clean start, I can unfortunately see this being a pretty boring race. Williams and Ferrari the most likely to challenge for pace, with Force India a real wildcard chance at another podium. For the Daniel Ricciardo fans out there, lets hope he can put in a good flying lap during qualifying and maintain a high position, but I can't see either Red Bull challenging on a track named after them.
On board Lap from Lewis Hamiltons pole last year
Number of Laps: 71
Track Length: 4.326km
Race Distance: 307.02km
Lap Record: 1.08.337 (Michael Schumacher, 2003)
Tyre Choices: Soft (Yellow), Supersoft (Red), Ultrasoft (Purple)
2015 Results: Nico Rosberg (1st), Lewis Hamilton (2nd), Felipe Massa (3rd)
2015 Qualifying: Lewis Hamilton (1st) - 1.08.455
TV Schedule: Fox Sports 5 will have all the usual stuff, Race from 10pm EST Sunday. Highlights will show on TEN the next day I believe.
Despite being called the "Red Bull Ring" this is a track which will not favor the
In terms of the Championship, it seems to be a battle of the two Mercedes drivers after last race. Rosberg needed that win in Baku after Hamilton was beginning to catch him. 24 points now the difference between the two so a DNF from Rosberg and a win from Hamilton would see a leadership change. Also a closer than expected battle going on at Ferrari despite Vettel being considered by most the better driver, and some questioning how long Raikkonen has left at Ferrari.
1. Nico Rosberg 141
2. Lewis Hamilton 117
3. Sebastian Vettel 96
4. Kimi Räikkönen 81
5. Daniel Ricciardo 78
6. Max Verstappen 54
7. Valtteri Bottas 52
8. Sergio Perez 39
9. Felipe Massa 38
10. Daniil Kvyat 22
11. Romain Grosjean 22
12. Nico Hulkenberg 20
13. Fernando Alonso 18
14. Carlos Sainz 18
15. Kevin Magnussen 6
16. Jenson Button 5
17. Stoffel Vandoorne 1
18. Esteban Gutierrez 0
19. Jolyon Palmer 0
20. Marcus Ericsson 0
21. Felipe Nasr 0
22. Pascal Wehrlein 0
23. Rio Haryanto 0
The constructors battle looks a lot more interesting mid table than it does at the top. I would expect both Williams and Force India to start closing the gap on Red Bull this weekend. Ferrari had a strong result in Baku, and will look to further increase the gap from Red Bull, who I think will struggle this weekend
1. Mercedes 258
2. Ferrari 177
3. Red Bull 140
4. Williams 90
5. Force India 59
6. Toro Rosso 32
7. McLaren 24
8. Haas Ferrari 22
9. Renault 6
10. Sauber 0
11. MRT 0
Most teams are favouring the ultrasoft tyre for this weekend. Although there are 71 laps in this race, the track is pretty short and I wouldn't imagine there being the need for too many stops during the race.
If the Mercedes end up on the front row and get away to a clean start, I can unfortunately see this being a pretty boring race. Williams and Ferrari the most likely to challenge for pace, with Force India a real wildcard chance at another podium. For the Daniel Ricciardo fans out there, lets hope he can put in a good flying lap during qualifying and maintain a high position, but I can't see either Red Bull challenging on a track named after them.
