By Carlo Platella
Less than a week after yet another direct confrontation took place in Barcelona, Austria Lando Norris and Max Verstappen they are ready to renew a challenge at the top that has been going on since the Miami Grand Prix. With the updates introduced in Florida, the McLaren package now appears to be at the level of the Red Bull one, an awareness that also shines through in the words and disappointment of the Woking team after the lack of success in Spain. In Austria, however, Ferrari also hopes to get closer to the leading duo, trusting in a track that is more friendly to the characteristics of the SF-24.
Norris’ disappointment
It’s a strangely calm and embittered Lando Norris who appears in the Red Bull Ring paddock. The Brit certainly doesn’t skimp on words when commenting on the Barcelona race, going on to tone down the excessive self-criticism in particular towards the less than impeccable start from the pole in Spain. The great severity initially shown towards himself nevertheless denotes a certain regret for the faded success in Spain, the result of the awareness of now having in your hands a package finally at Red Bull level.
McLaren dampens enthusiasm, saying Barcelona the MCL38 wasn’t faster than the RB20but that the best pace expressed in the race was distorted by a strategy that saw the Woking team stop later and therefore fit fresher tyres for a long time compared to the world champions. If not in front, the British team is still confident of having hours of a car very close to Red Bull. The aim is to realise the potential with a victory in Austria, a different track but still not far from the setup of the Catalan one.
Much of the challenge will be decided by the ability to optimize the respective packages through fine-tuning. A practice that becomes even more difficult in Austria with the return of the Sprint format and the single free practice session, threatened by rain. All this with a Red Bull has often lost its way in recent races in the search for the optimal set-up, as Perez himself states, finding a square with only Verstappen just before qualifying. Indecision which will not be admissible in the hectic weekend in Styria.
Ferrari does not lose optimism
In Austria the Cavallino hopes to return to the top positions after being relegated in the hierarchies behind Mercedes in Canada and Spain, albeit for different reasons. In the cold of Montreal the Red had not managed to turn on the tires in qualifying, while in Spain the SF-24 paid for the difficulty in adapting the set-up to the latest updates, as well as the chronic gaps in the medium-low speed corners and long distance. Curves are almost completely absent at the Red Bull Ring, with the exception of hairpin 4, instilling confidence in a Ferrari now also strengthened by greater experience with the recent package of innovations.
Mercedes, for its part, is riding the wave of recent progress, as can be seen from the serenity of Hamilton and Russell, who both appeared smiling in the Austrian paddock. As always, the battle promises to be extremely close, even more so on one of the shortest circuits on the calendar, with the expectation of seeing a group of eight cars within just two tenths of a second. A balance where the difference will be made by the management of every single detail, including the traffic alarm for qualifying, which on the long straights in Austria could also turn into a precious opportunity for slipstreaming.
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