Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

F1: Six things to look for at the Austrian GP<!-- wp:html --><div></div> <div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Formula 1 heads to the Red Bull Ring in Austria this weekend for the 11th race of the 2022 season.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Fresh after a chaotic British Grand Prix with a crash on the opening lap, exciting wheel-to-wheel races and a first-ever F1 win for Carlos Sainz, it promises to be an intriguing weekend in Spielberg, with a sprint race on Saturday.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span class="mol-style-italic">sports post</span> List six things to watch out for at the Austrian Grand Prix… </p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Carlos Sainz took his first Formula 1 win at the British Grand Prix last week</p> </div> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Zhou Guanyu was also involved in a huge crash on the opening lap at Silverstone</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font mol-style-medium mol-style-bold">CAN ZHOU RECOVER FROM HIS HORRORCRASH?</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Zhou Guanyu was involved in one of the most horrific crashes in recent F1 history at Silverstone last weekend when he collided with George Russell’s Mercedes in the first corner.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">His Alfa Romeo slid off the track and flipped over before going over a barrier and crashing into a fence.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">At the time, it seemed very likely that the Chinese driver would be seriously injured, according to the seriousness of the crash, but he managed to escape unharmed.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Zhou’s car flipped over and crashed into a fence during British Grand Prix</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Speaking about the incident a few days later, Zhou admitted it was a very scary experience. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">“The next thing I felt was some leakage. I wasn’t sure if it was my body or the car, so I just tried to turn the engine off,” he told reporters about the aftermath of the crash.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">“I knew that if a fire started, it would be difficult to get out. I don’t know how I survived.’</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">He will be back on the starting grid in Spielberg straight away and fans will be interested to see how he fares after his terrifying crash.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">He’s back in action in Austria, to put that high-speed crash behind him</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font mol-style-medium mol-style-bold">VERSTAKEN AIMS TO GET TITLE BID BACK ON TRACK</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The British Grand Prix was certainly a frustrating one for Max Verstappen.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The Dutchman started Sunday’s race in second place behind Sainz and appeared to have overtook his rival on lap one, only for the Zhou-Russell collision that caused the race to be red-flagged.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">It was decided that proceedings would resume with the drivers in their original positions, and when the race got going again, disaster struck for Verstappen.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">His Red Bull suffered significant structural damage due to a shard of rubble getting trapped underneath, immediately putting him out of contention to win.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Max Verstappen had a tough day of racing at Silverstone but will hope to come back in Austria</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">He still managed to finish seventh, but this meant dropping points over championship rivals Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Verstappen is not used to finishing so far down the grid and will not want a repeat in Austria.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The Dutchman started the weekend perfectly by taking pole for Saturday’s sprint race. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">History suggests he should do much better this time around, having won three of the last four races at Red Bull’s home circuit.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font mol-style-medium mol-style-bold">SCHUMACHER LOOKING FOR KICK ON</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">It may have taken a while – 31 starts to be exact – but Mick Schumacher has finally earned his first points in F1 at Silverstone.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The son of seven-time world champion Michael has had to wait patiently for a top-10 finish, with many things going wrong in recent months, including when he crashed into a barrier in Monaco, breaking his car in half.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Still, everything fell into place at the British Grand Prix and he made the most of six cars that failed to finish by pushing themselves into the points.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Mick Schumacher scored his first F1 points last week and was congratulated by Sebastian Vettel</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">He even tried to overtake Verstappen in the last few laps, but didn’t quite get past the championship leader before the checkered flag.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Still, eighth place was a huge step in the right direction for the 23-year-old.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Was it just a one-off or can he consistently earn points in the future? We should get a better indication of Schumacher’s progress in Austria.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font mol-style-medium mol-style-bold">IS HAMILTON READY TO CHALLENGE A RACEWIN?</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The first half of the 2022 season was far from ideal for Lewis Hamilton.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">After narrowly missing out on his eighth world title last year, this time he was unhappy with his Mercedes, often complaining about ‘porpoises’ and was regularly outpaced by his team-mate Russell in the early weeks of the season.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Some even wondered if he still had the hunger to be at the front of the grid.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Still, the last two races have seen him take a turn. He has landed on the podium in both cases and for a while it looked as if he could even win in front of his home fans at Silverstone.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Lewis Hamilton has shown signs of improvement in recent races for Mercedes</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">He eventually had to settle for third, but he didn’t give an inch in his battle with Leclerc and eventually passed the Ferrari driver.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Hamilton has won at least one race in every F1 season he has competed in, and he appears to have his mojo back, with Mercedes closing the gap with Red Bull and Ferrari.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">However, a crash in qualifying means Hamilton has some work to do as the Briton will start on the fifth row in Saturday’s sprint race. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Perhaps this is the weekend he will complete his record of 103 race wins.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font mol-style-medium mol-style-bold">ALL EYES ON MCLEREN DUO</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo have made the podium just once between them this season in what has been a disappointing campaign for McLaren so far.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Norris comfortably outperformed his teammate, taking a total of 58 points to move up to seventh overall.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">For Ricciardo, 15 points is a poor return for the former Red Bull driver, and he finished 13th at Silverstone out of 14 men to complete the race.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Daniel Ricciardo is always smiling, but the pressure on the Australian is mounting</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The pair appeared to be in a relaxed mood at the British Grand Prix as they enjoyed a race on space hoppers leading up to Sunday’s main event, with the Australian jokingly punching the Brit in the face as she pushed towards the finish.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Ricciardo also got a ‘shoey’ cake for his 33rd birthday this weekend.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">However, the pressure on Ricciardo to perform is mounting and he will hope to keep in touch or even beat Norris in Austria.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">They hope to come back from a difficult qualifying session on Friday, with Norris and Ricciardo starting from 15th and 16th positions. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font mol-style-medium mol-style-bold">CAN TSUNODA KEEP CALM AND CONTINUE?</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Some athletes use anger to push themselves. That fire in the belly can take them to the next level. Unfortunately for Yuki Tsunoda, that approach doesn’t seem to work.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The 22-year-old has become known for his outbursts on team radio during races, but he has only racked up 11 points this season and is 15th in the standings.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Tsunoda drives for AlphaTauri and has been described as a ‘problem kid’ by Red Bull chief Helmut Marko.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Yuki Tsunoda has lost his cool on team radio several times this season</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Marko has also confirmed that Red Bull has hired a psychologist to work with Tsunoda to help him manage his emotions.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">If Tsunoda eventually wants to make the move from Red Bull’s sister team, it seems he will have to learn to stay calm under pressure.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">It will be fascinating to see if he starts to show any signs of holding his emotions in check in Austria.</p> </div><!-- /wp:html -->

Formula 1 heads to the Red Bull Ring in Austria this weekend for the 11th race of the 2022 season.

Fresh after a chaotic British Grand Prix with a crash on the opening lap, exciting wheel-to-wheel races and a first-ever F1 win for Carlos Sainz, it promises to be an intriguing weekend in Spielberg, with a sprint race on Saturday.

sports post List six things to watch out for at the Austrian Grand Prix…

Carlos Sainz took his first Formula 1 win at the British Grand Prix last week

Zhou Guanyu was also involved in a huge crash on the opening lap at Silverstone

CAN ZHOU RECOVER FROM HIS HORRORCRASH?

Zhou Guanyu was involved in one of the most horrific crashes in recent F1 history at Silverstone last weekend when he collided with George Russell’s Mercedes in the first corner.

His Alfa Romeo slid off the track and flipped over before going over a barrier and crashing into a fence.

At the time, it seemed very likely that the Chinese driver would be seriously injured, according to the seriousness of the crash, but he managed to escape unharmed.

Zhou’s car flipped over and crashed into a fence during British Grand Prix

Speaking about the incident a few days later, Zhou admitted it was a very scary experience.

“The next thing I felt was some leakage. I wasn’t sure if it was my body or the car, so I just tried to turn the engine off,” he told reporters about the aftermath of the crash.

“I knew that if a fire started, it would be difficult to get out. I don’t know how I survived.’

He will be back on the starting grid in Spielberg straight away and fans will be interested to see how he fares after his terrifying crash.

He’s back in action in Austria, to put that high-speed crash behind him

VERSTAKEN AIMS TO GET TITLE BID BACK ON TRACK

The British Grand Prix was certainly a frustrating one for Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman started Sunday’s race in second place behind Sainz and appeared to have overtook his rival on lap one, only for the Zhou-Russell collision that caused the race to be red-flagged.

It was decided that proceedings would resume with the drivers in their original positions, and when the race got going again, disaster struck for Verstappen.

His Red Bull suffered significant structural damage due to a shard of rubble getting trapped underneath, immediately putting him out of contention to win.

Max Verstappen had a tough day of racing at Silverstone but will hope to come back in Austria

He still managed to finish seventh, but this meant dropping points over championship rivals Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen is not used to finishing so far down the grid and will not want a repeat in Austria.

The Dutchman started the weekend perfectly by taking pole for Saturday’s sprint race.

History suggests he should do much better this time around, having won three of the last four races at Red Bull’s home circuit.

SCHUMACHER LOOKING FOR KICK ON

It may have taken a while – 31 starts to be exact – but Mick Schumacher has finally earned his first points in F1 at Silverstone.

The son of seven-time world champion Michael has had to wait patiently for a top-10 finish, with many things going wrong in recent months, including when he crashed into a barrier in Monaco, breaking his car in half.

Still, everything fell into place at the British Grand Prix and he made the most of six cars that failed to finish by pushing themselves into the points.

Mick Schumacher scored his first F1 points last week and was congratulated by Sebastian Vettel

He even tried to overtake Verstappen in the last few laps, but didn’t quite get past the championship leader before the checkered flag.

Still, eighth place was a huge step in the right direction for the 23-year-old.

Was it just a one-off or can he consistently earn points in the future? We should get a better indication of Schumacher’s progress in Austria.

IS HAMILTON READY TO CHALLENGE A RACEWIN?

The first half of the 2022 season was far from ideal for Lewis Hamilton.

After narrowly missing out on his eighth world title last year, this time he was unhappy with his Mercedes, often complaining about ‘porpoises’ and was regularly outpaced by his team-mate Russell in the early weeks of the season.

Some even wondered if he still had the hunger to be at the front of the grid.

Still, the last two races have seen him take a turn. He has landed on the podium in both cases and for a while it looked as if he could even win in front of his home fans at Silverstone.

Lewis Hamilton has shown signs of improvement in recent races for Mercedes

He eventually had to settle for third, but he didn’t give an inch in his battle with Leclerc and eventually passed the Ferrari driver.

Hamilton has won at least one race in every F1 season he has competed in, and he appears to have his mojo back, with Mercedes closing the gap with Red Bull and Ferrari.

However, a crash in qualifying means Hamilton has some work to do as the Briton will start on the fifth row in Saturday’s sprint race.

Perhaps this is the weekend he will complete his record of 103 race wins.

ALL EYES ON MCLEREN DUO

Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo have made the podium just once between them this season in what has been a disappointing campaign for McLaren so far.

Norris comfortably outperformed his teammate, taking a total of 58 points to move up to seventh overall.

For Ricciardo, 15 points is a poor return for the former Red Bull driver, and he finished 13th at Silverstone out of 14 men to complete the race.

Daniel Ricciardo is always smiling, but the pressure on the Australian is mounting

The pair appeared to be in a relaxed mood at the British Grand Prix as they enjoyed a race on space hoppers leading up to Sunday’s main event, with the Australian jokingly punching the Brit in the face as she pushed towards the finish.

Ricciardo also got a ‘shoey’ cake for his 33rd birthday this weekend.

However, the pressure on Ricciardo to perform is mounting and he will hope to keep in touch or even beat Norris in Austria.

They hope to come back from a difficult qualifying session on Friday, with Norris and Ricciardo starting from 15th and 16th positions.

CAN TSUNODA KEEP CALM AND CONTINUE?

Some athletes use anger to push themselves. That fire in the belly can take them to the next level. Unfortunately for Yuki Tsunoda, that approach doesn’t seem to work.

The 22-year-old has become known for his outbursts on team radio during races, but he has only racked up 11 points this season and is 15th in the standings.

Tsunoda drives for AlphaTauri and has been described as a ‘problem kid’ by Red Bull chief Helmut Marko.

Yuki Tsunoda has lost his cool on team radio several times this season

Marko has also confirmed that Red Bull has hired a psychologist to work with Tsunoda to help him manage his emotions.

If Tsunoda eventually wants to make the move from Red Bull’s sister team, it seems he will have to learn to stay calm under pressure.

It will be fascinating to see if he starts to show any signs of holding his emotions in check in Austria.

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