Max Verstappen managed to make the difference in Spain thanks to a good and decisive opening phase and laid the foundation for his seventh victory of the season. However, at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya it became clear again that there is little room for error, as Lando Norris and McLaren were once again not far away. The second race of the triple header is scheduled for next weekend in Austria and it promises to be another exciting weekend. And Red Bull Racing will undoubtedly want to do everything it can to win its home race. In Under the microscope, F1Maximaal.nl highlights the five most important storylines towards the Grand Prix weekend.
1. New Verstappen versus Norris?
In the past five races, Verstappen and Norris were in charge no fewer than four times. Norris won once and in the other three cases Verstappen was just a bit too quick for his British opponent. There is a good chance that the duo will compete for victory again in Austria and Verstappen can be proud, because after the lost race in Spain it became clear that Norris is no longer satisfied with second place.
In addition, the differences will, if possible, be even smaller on the short but fast Red Bull Ring. Usually, just over a minute is enough for drivers to circle the 4.3 kilometer long circuit once. Interesting detail: a year ago, McLaren finally arrived at the front thanks to a major upgrade in Spielberg. This year, the British team will undoubtedly want to make the turning point in the title battle at the Austrian Grand Prix.
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2. Important Friday for Verstappen
Verstappen himself already mentioned it in his preview, but in Austria it will be very important for Red Bull to get off to a good start straight away. The third sprint weekend of 2024 is planned at the Red Bull Ring, which means that the teams and drivers only have one hour to test new parts and find a good balance.
And the latter is exactly what Red Bull and Verstappen struggled with in recent Grand Prix weekends. Advisor Helmut Marko also mentioned it earlier this week. The 81-year-old Austrian said Red Bull could face difficulties if the balance problem recurs on Friday. In recent weeks, the Dutchman was often still searching on Fridays and in most cases he managed to take an important step in FP3 together with his team and the drivers in the simulator on Saturday, but the reigning world champion has this opportunity this weekend. not this.
3. Is the friendliness at Ferrari over?
Even before the start of the season, Ferrari announced that it would say goodbye to Carlos Sainz after this year. The Spaniard has to leave the Scuderia and make way for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. It was feared that the Spaniard would make his own plans, as the three-time race winner is in his last season in red and wants to gain attention from other teams. So far, apart from a few skirmishes, it has remained relatively quiet, but in Spain the internal battle between the two drivers seemed to be flaring up.
Early in the race, Sainz attempted to overtake his younger teammate in the first corner, but this did not go without a fight. There was even light contact between the two Ferrari men and afterwards Leclerc stated that his teammate ignored the agreements made and wanted to do ‘something spectacular’ for his own audience. The Monegasque was clearly not pleased with this and called the incident unnecessary. Sainz responded by stating that he was aware of no harm and that Leclerc complains too much.
The battle between the two Ferrari drivers caused quite a stir and the media soon spoke of an internal war. However, team boss Frédéric Vasseur wanted nothing to do with that. The Frenchman believed that a fight like the one in Spain is part of the game. Will the Ferrari men come to blows again in Austria or was Spain just a storm in a teacup?
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4. Pérez needs a good result in a challenging weekend
The Grand Prix weekend at the Red Bull Ring is of great importance for Pérez. The Mexican recently signed a new contract with his current employer, but since then the results have not been at all worthy of Red Bull. The six-time race winner was also absent in Barcelona. The only positive was that, after three races, he finally reached Q3 again, but that was all. Thanks to a grid penalty that he took with him from Canada, Pérez only started the race in eleventh on Sunday. The Mexican managed to fight his way to the front, but with an eighth place, almost a minute behind his teammate and race winner Verstappen, he could not possibly be satisfied.
Things will have to be a lot better in Austria, the 34-year-old from Guadalajara knows that himself. Not only does he undoubtedly want to shine on his employer’s home circuit, but above all he wants to breathe new life into his season. In any case, there is no lack of confidence, because the Mexican stated in a press release prior to the race in Spielberg that he ‘has everything it takes to have a good weekend’. He knows what he needs to work on, but there is one problem. There is not much time to test the changes thanks to the sprint format.
5. Gasly stays with Alpine, dark clouds gather over Ricciardo
It may not be a big surprise, but Pierre Gasly will again defend the colors of the Alpine Formula 1 team next season. The French racing team announced this on Thursday morning. However, Alpine has not yet released anything new about the Frenchman’s new teammate. According to the latest rumors, Jack Doohan, Mick Schumacher and Carlos Sainz appear to be deciding who will replace the departing Esteban Ocon next year.
While Gasly’s F1 future is now assured, Daniel Ricciardo’s seems to be hanging by a thread. It previously became clear through Pérez’s contract extension that a move to the big Red Bull is no longer an option for the Visa Cash App RB driver, but his days with the sister team of the championship formation also appear to be numbered. In a conversation with Kleine Zeitung, the advisor revealed that the intention is for the team from Faenza to train young talents and Ricciardo, at 34 years old, clearly does not fit into that picture. Liam Lawson seems to be Yuki Tsunoda’s new teammate in 2025.
F1Maximaal.nl now also has a calendar of all other motorsports, so you can quickly see what there is to see each weekend.
