© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
By Carol M. Creasey
After a third place finish in Canada for Lewis Hamilton, at a track Mercedes didn’t think would work for their car, the team believed that the track at Austria would suit them better.
Practice took place in variable conditions, as did Qualifying, but Lewis was optimistic about his fifth place. George Russell could not reach Q3, and had to settle for P11.
The Sprint Shootout was not good, as due to being blocked by Max Verstappen when he wanted to do his hot lap, Lewis found himself out in SQ1. The Briton had to start the sprint race from 18th place. Russell fared slightly better, as he qualified in 13th place. Lewis found he had good pace in the Sprint Race, and was able to make up 8 places to get to P10, and Russell managed to get to P8, earning himself a single point.
On Sunday the weather was dry, and Lewis made a mega start, passing Lando Norris immediately for 4th place, and then set his sights on Carlos Sainz. But it wasn’t long before he was struggling with the steering and the balance of the car, and unable to keep it on the track, which he reported to his team.
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While driving behind Lewis, Norris was complaining about his track limit breaches on the radio, and Lewis was eventually given a five-second penalty, which he served on his pit stop. Russell’s car also had no pace, and remained outside the top 10 for a long time. Now many drivers were finding the track limits hard, so more of them were being penalised. Lewis did his utmost to bring the car home safely, but had to watch helplessly when Norris overtook him, and he was then overtaken on the pit stop by Fernando Alonso.
Lewis was frustrated that so many other drivers were also over track limits, and not being penalised, and Toto Wolff understood his frustration, so he came on the radio to assure Lewis that he knew the car was bad, and asked him just to drive it. Of course the scurrilous press have reported it as a reprimand from Toto, but the relationship that Lewis and Toto enjoy allows them both to vent their frustration in difficult times with absolutely no bad feelings towards each other afterwards. Toto doesn’t have to tread on eggshells so as not to upset Lewis, they are completely open and honest with one another, which is the basis of a true friendship as well as a good working relationship.
The eventual result of the race was Verstappen 1st, Leclec 2nd and Perez 3rd. Lewis was 7th and Russell 8th. However, after complaints from Aston Martin, the FIA looked at it again, and then handed Lewis an even higher penalty, putting him down to 8th and promoting Russell to 7th.
Many fans were very angry about what appeared to be direct targeting of Lewis, especially as he had already reported the problem with his car to the team. There was also anger that several people who had also been over track limits did not receive penalties, and therefore finished higher in the points than they actually deserved. Also many questions are being asked about the FIA and the stewards and their competence, as 1,200 incidents of track violation were noted, but many were not acted upon.
This weekend Formula 1 moves to Silverstone with more upgrades for Mercedes, and obviously Lewis and Russell want to do well on their home ground. I am wishing Mercedes good luck, as I am sure by then they will have put the disappointment of Austria behind them.
Be sure to follow Carol on Twitter @eagertogo and visit her website www.carolmcreasey.com!
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