As if the heatwave sweeping across Europe wasn’t enough, a dull and predictable race like the one in Zeltweg added to the discomfort of a sweaty late June Sunday, with plenty of coffee needed to stay awake. Yet, in the middle of the monotony, at least Ferrari made an appearance. Nothing spectacular, to be clear. The gap to the front remained consistent with recent races: around 22 seconds in Montreal (before the Safety Car), roughly 30 seconds in Spain (with a late Safety Car), and 19.8 seconds in Austria. However, the new floor introduced on the SF-25 allowed Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to match the McLarens’ pace for a good portion of the race — a small positive in a difficult season. Still, the Monegasque, who finished third, emphasized that the race pace is too slow, and even his best efforts aren’t enough to turn things around. Lewis Hamilton, who finished fourth, echoed similar thoughts with slight variations.
The Austrian Grand Prix reaffirmed that there is now a clear performance gap between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, in the Monegasque’s favor. Lewis is putting in the effort, fighting hard, encouraging his team, and even debating strategy with his engineer Riccardo Adami, trying to delay a pit stop that would have changed nothing in the end. This attention to detail shows his determination not to give up. Yet we are now halfway through the season, and his adaptation to Ferrari still appears uncertain, difficult, even questionable.
Victory went to Lando Norris, who bounced back strongly after the Montreal setback. This time, he didn’t put a foot wrong and made it clear to Oscar Piastri that the intra-team battle will last until the final race — assuming McLaren continues managing things as well as it has so far. Oscar Piastri, for his part, is a cold, calculated driver, performing with the maturity of Niki Lauda at his peak.
Oscar attempted a move on Norris and even got ahead for a few meters, but this time Lando responded perfectly, a rarity for him given his track record. Oscar Piastri didn’t flinch, settled for second place, and immediately looks ahead to the challenge at Silverstone — where Norris aims to win in front of his home crowd and Hamilton dreams of doing the same to prove that the switch to Ferrari wasn’t a mistake, despite what the results might suggest.
Back to McLaren’s internal battle, it’s worth noting that in Canada, Norris made a major error trying to overtake Oscar Piastri, whereas in Austria, the Australian took no risks and secured vital points. That’s how championships are won — and Oscar’s internal balance may be his greatest strength.
It’s also worth highlighting the success of former Ferrari personnel now working elsewhere. Andrea Stella is the mastermind behind McLaren’s 1-2 finish. Mattia Binotto is performing the seemingly impossible task of reviving Sauber, bringing both Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg into the points. Simone Resta, now a key technical figure at Mercedes, played a role in Russell’s fifth place. And Laurent Mekies, now heading Racing Bulls, has revitalized Liam Lawson, pushing him to a stunning sixth-place finish.
One pointed reflection: are we absolutely sure Ferrari did the right thing letting go of all these valuable figures?
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