Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc took the Maranello team’s fourth win of the current F1 campaign last weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg after passing his title-rival Max Verstappen three times on track during the Austrian Grand Prix. However, Ferrari’s Sunday was also marked by a spectacular power unit issue for Carlos Sainz which led to dramatic scenes as his F1-75 challenger caught fire.
During the Austrian weekend there were some worrying moments off-track too, with many complaints regarding the inappropriate behaviour from some fans. With many topics of discussion following the events at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, here are some of the most important talking points that drew plenty of reaction from international media outlets.
Charles Leclerc arrived in Austria after a series of unbelievable misfortunes that ruined his last five races and it is no surprise that his victory last Sunday was highly appreciated across the globe.
“The black cloud of misfortune that has been hanging over Charles Leclerc since early May finally lifted and he took advantage to make a powerful statement as he pulled off a dominant victory in the Austrian Grand Prix,” wrote the BBC – “Grand Prix victories don’t come much more convincing than this one – especially against a rival as formidable as Verstappen and Red Bull. Leclerc overtook Verstappen no less than three times on his way to victory as the Red Bull struggled with excessive tyre degradation and was forced into a sub-optimal strategy.”
The worrying throttle issues encountered by Charles Leclerc in the final part of the race were referenced by French daily newspaper L’Equipe, who wrote: “Charles Leclerc finally regained victory after a Grand Prix marked by his overtakes on Max Verstappen. A perfectly mastered race for the Ferrari driver who experienced a great scare in the closing laps.”
Ferrari therefore won in Austria, after also finishing on top of the podium seven days earlier at the Silverstone circuit, which has led to a sense of optimism in Italy’s Gazzetta Dello Sport.
“The 38 points behind Max Verstappen are an easily scalable mountain for Ferrari – more powerful, stable, faster and gentler on its tyres than Max Verstappen’s Red Bull,” wrote Gazzetta Dello Sport -“Two victories, first at Silverstone, then in Austria, are worth more than the 12 points recovered by Charles Leclerc to the championship leader.”
Scuderia Ferrari victory could in fact have been a one-two finish at the Red Bull Ring had Carlos Sainz not suffered a dramatic power unit failure, and this incident took up plenty of column inches in the international press.
“After the first win of his Formula 1 career, Carlos Sainz was on course for a podium again in Spielberg,” wrote the German daily Bild – “But instead of celebrating his top placing with champagne, his Ferrari was sprayed with fire-extinguishing foam.” – they added.
The Italian media also pointed out Carlos Sainz’s DNF in Austria, which came just a few days after he secured his first Formula 1 win, as the engine issue did not allow the Spanish driver to build on that momentum:
“In a week, the mood at Ferrari has turned upside down and this time it’s up to Carlos Sainz to be the face of disappointment,” wrote the Gazzetta Dello Sport – “With Verstappen in his sights, a column of white smoke rose from the F1-75 of the Spaniard: goodbye engine and probably dreams of glory.”
Spanish daily newspaper Marca also wanted to highlight the Maranello team’s reliability problems in this first part of the 2022 Formula One championship:
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“It certainly hasn’t been the year of reliability at Ferrari, and it’s been evenly spread across both cars. Charles Leclerc was denied victory in Spain and Azerbaijan while leading in both races, and today it was Sainz who saw his chances of another podium finish and a strong World Championship finish crushed.” – Marca reported.
Regarding the accusations of inappropriate crowd behaviour, Bild pointed out in no uncertain terms about the severity of such moments that have no place the sport:
“Formula 1 has a discrimination scandal!” exclaimed the German newspaper – “Racist, homophobic and sexist statements are said to have been made in the grandstands around the race weekend in Austria. On social networks, the evidence is piling up.” Their view was also shared by L’Equipe: “Several fans denounce in particular racist and homophobic insults, and some women say they have been victims of sexual harassment,” wrote the French publication.
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