Austrian Grand Prix Grid Walk: Are Ferrari finally ready to take on Mercedes?

So far this season, Russell hasn’t really looked the more experienced of the Mercedes drivers. He has struggled for confidence and dropped miles behind Antonelli in the drivers’ standings. In Q3, however, he finally showed a bit of guile behind the wheel. 

When Max Verstappen went off at T9, young Antonelli abandoned his lap under waved yellows. But Russell only eased off a tiny amount, completed his lap, and took pole. Having played the rules, he now has a great opportunity to hit back in the title race… if he can hold on through T3 & T4. 

The Red Bull Ring isn’t Monaco; in places it’s more like a go-karting track. Russell will get slipstreamed off the start, bringing both Ferraris and his teammate into play. It’s going to be a very entertaining opening lap with huge ramifications. Let battle commence! 

Many teams have brought big upgrades to Austria, arguably none bigger than Ferrari. The Scuderia have been aerodynamically sound but down on power for much of the season. But recent developments (and this year’s “ADUO” rules) have allowed them to close the gap on straight-line speed. 

Given how fast Ferrari already were off the line in the opening eight grand prix, it would be surprising if they didn’t challenge Mercedes. Verstappen is another potential threat in P5. He’s certainly not afraid of a daring overtake. But his Red Bull still doesn’t have a pointy enough front end for his liking. 

McLaren also looked good in FP2, which bodes well for their race pace. However, it didn’t quite come together in qualifying, and now they have a mountain to climb in P6 & P7. Isack Hadjar seems upset with P8. Having qualified 0.15 seconds off Verstappen, he shouldn’t be! And strategy will create opportunities for him. 

The two Racing Bulls have been rapid all weekend and did well to take P9 & P10. Red Bull may have been surprised to find their engine was deemed fastest on the grid. But clearly they’re doing something right! Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad will try to hold off Pierre Gasly, who looked back to his best, qualifying P11 in an improved Alpine. 

On the face of it, Audi qualifying P12 & P14 isn’t much of a surprise. But they’ve had a really tricky time trying to get the most out of new brake ducts, front wing end plates, and parts on the rear. There was a lot of chatter and tweaking in practice, so there’s still more to come from Audi, maybe even this weekend.

Meanwhile, Haas have been left behind in the development race. Starting P13 & P15, it’ll take a really chaotic grand prix to give them an opportunity for any points. Ollie Bearman said he got the most out of their current package, worrying times! For his part, Esteban Ocon did make it out of Q1, but his seat remains under scrutiny. 

Williams got their last pole position in Austria 12 years ago, going on to take a podium. They won’t be putting on a repeat performance in P17 & P18. Cadillac seem to have taken a step forward with their upgrade package, qualifying 0.4 secs behind in P19 & P20. Aston Martin, on the other hand, are still rooted at the very back of the grid. 

Fernando Alonso’s swansong is being ruined by their hapless performance. It’s a massive shame for one of F1’s truly great drivers. If the alarm bells weren’t already ringing at Aston Martin, they will be now. Qualifying nine-tenths behind an entirely new team and 3.8 secs off pole is remarkably poor form.

Hamilton’s first Ferrari win in Catalunya was already a statement. Some commentators have spent the last two weeks talking up a title charge. It might be a little early for that, but Ferrari have certainly closed the performance gap with engine and fuel upgrades. It’ll be exciting to see how close they can get. 

Let’s not forget that Ferrari achieved (an exceedingly rare) strategy win in Spain. Once the order settles down in Austria, tyre management is going to be critical once again. The track temperature hit 52°C in qualifying—and there’s approximately 0.4 secs per lap between hards and mediums, or 0.7 secs to the softs. 

With this in mind, Russell really needs to break free and manage his tyres. By comparison, Antonelli needs to be more aggressive, only settling down if he can’t make early progress. In the searing heat, it’s not impossible that we’ll also get breakdowns and safety cars, bringing the softs into the mix and disrupting any one-stop strategies. 

It really is all to play for. Russell did well to grab an opportunistic pole. Can he convert this opportunity to close the gap on his teammate? Will Ferrari spoil the party? Or can Antonelli fight all the way back for a dramatic win? We’ll find out over the next 71 laps. It should be a scorcher in Styria!