In this instalment, Joe Murphy from W2W Reports looks back at the events from the last two weeks of Formula 1 action and comments on this purple patch for Red Bull.
- Red bull beating Mercedes on strategy.
Red Bull are on a charge at the moment. It is fairly obvious to fans of the sport that the team haven’t been as strong as this since Sebastian Vettel’s last championship win. In an era of Mercedes dominance since 2014, Red Bull are now on top and matching the Silver Arrows on pace, strategy and reliability. With Max Verstappen leading the championship standings thanks to back to back wins in France and Austria, it is in fact last year’s winners who have work to do. Lewis Hamilton appears to be the nearest challenger to Max in his bid for a maiden World championship, but over the last two races, the seven-time world champ simply hasn’t had the answers, and neither have his team. Fury from Valtteri Bottas around Paul Ricard whereas during the Styrain race, he only held onto third by the skin of his teeth. There is no question Red Bull have had the pace in the last two weeks, and with the next race coming from the same circuit, this in all likelihood will be repeated. Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes do have good form in the latter part of seasons. What was showcased most this weekend was the stark contrast between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, and the rest of the pack. The gulf in pace from those two to the remaining 18 quite frankly was vast. We will wait and see what the summer brings us.
Lando smashing it, Danny can’t seem to adjust...
Lando Norris may be most people’s choice for Driver of the season, maybe only behind Max. Scoring in all races so far, not costing his team anything in terms of damage (the only driver to do so) and being consistently brilliant has led to a deserved contract extension. McLaren deserve some praise to. However, whilst they’ve got one driver who is regularly challenging the front runners, Australian counterpart Daniel Ricciardo can’t seem to put a run of performances together. The ‘last of the late brakers’ may have had a stellar showing in France but in Austria, he simply had no answers for his lack of pace and finished well outside the points. This shines even brighter in contrast with Lando a superb and comfortable fifth, only behind the Mercedes’ and Red Bull’s. The Australia’s track record shows he can turn this around, but this needs to happen soon for the constructor if it can successfully shake off Ferrari to secure third in the Constructors Championship this year.
Is Fernando Alonso back?
After what can justifiably be called a rocky start to the season, the two-time Formula 1 world champion seems to have found his groove in the last two races. Back in the points and getting the maximum out of that Alpine, the Spaniards seems to be repaying some of that €20 million salary to his French Constructors. Across the garage, Estaban Ocon seems to have suffered a dip in form since signing that contract extension that will see him in an F1 seat until at least 2024. Whether the plan is for him to move to Mercedes after this, only a select few will know, but the Frenchman seemed quite off the pace over the course of this triple header so far. Appearing to battle the Alpha Tauri team and Aston Martin for P5 in the constructors, the midfield battle seems even closer than the one at the front of the field. Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel have both had superb races over the last couple of months, as have Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda. Most of the time, it appears that one driver from each team excels whereas the other lags behind. All three of these outfits will hope to secure some double points finishes before the summer break.
Let’s be honest, George is never getting that Williams point is he…
Whilst his driving skills are unquestionable, his bad luck and lack of speed combo have prevented the Brit from ever scoring a single point in that seat. A solid yet ultimately short 12th in France followed by a promising qualifying and P7 place at points at the Styrian race, unreliability reared its ugly head and he was forced to retire. An opportunity for points never seemed to good as it had done this past weekend. With Nicolas Latifi way off the pace for most of the last two weekends, it falls to George to make sure Williams finish above the developmental Haas car. He showed he had some pace in Austria, let’s hope for his sake he has it next week for the Austrian Grand Prix.
Pierre showing what he can do…
Other from some bad luck on Sunday for the Styrian race where an incident ended his race prematurely, Pierre Gasly has been on fire for Alpha Tauri. Faultless in qualifying and in France overall, only a mistake from Charles Leclerc had his finish early. Gasly seems to be in full confidence over the last couple of weeks and his strong performances followed by Yuki Tsunoda showcasing some of his talents, the Italian constructor deservedly find themselves above Alpine and Aston Martin in the midfield battle. With the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix to look forward to next week, from a circuit we know these drivers are strong on from events this weekend, maybe Pierre and Yuki can aim even higher. That’s if the don’t injure themselves playing football around the Red Bull ring!
WHEEL2WHEEL REPORTS 