2019 Austrian GP - Redbull Ring

[Nitrodaze]

So far, the 2019 season has been a "walk in the park" for the Petronas Mercedes team. They have won all the races to date, with Lewis Hamilton winning six of the eight completed races. Valterie Bottas winning the other two. Ferrari and Redbull have no wins their names. But Freaky twists of fate has deprived Ferrari from those occasions where they had done all the work of comprehensively beating the competition but were stripped of the spoils and glory of winning the races. For some reason, Redbull are not quite where they were when they had the Renault engine this season.

The Austrian GP has not typically been a Hamilton circuit, though he has won it once in 2016. Bottas is usually very strong at this track, setting the fastest lap ever of the track at 1:03:130 during the 2018 qualifying. Bottas won the race once in 2017. Both Mercedes sere leading the 2018 race and were on course for a one-two race finish when a double DNF due to engine failure handed the race win to a grateful Max Verstapenn who was running in third. You would be interested to know that Vettel has never won this race.

The Ferrari has not been very good at this race in recent years, one wonders if it would be any different this weekend. However, it is another realistic opportunity for Redbull to win this race if Mercedes and Ferrari slip up. On shear pace, the Mercedes would be the car to beat this weekend. Only a mishap such as engine failure, tyre problems or act of God would cause them to fail to win this race. But which of the two Mercedes drivers is favorite to win this race? My money is on Bottas to get pole, but Hamilton to win the race. Bottas has been having quite a few bad starts recently, he would need to do something special to keep ahead of Hamilton this weekend. A Hamilton win would put 43 points between Hamilton and Bottas. A Bottas win would reduce the current gap to at least 29 points.

The fight for fourth would rage on this weekend, as Renault bids to level or surpass the ever improving Mclaren. The brilliant drive by Sainz and fiesty drive by Norris in a troubled car at Paul Ricard brought about an increase of the gap between Mclaren and Renault from two points to eight points. A repeat of the French GP form at the Redbull ring may see this gap increase further into double figures



Even the twirly mustache of Carey Chase, looked well at home in the fine company of the Austrian grid girls.